Alaska school’s fuel tanks safely transported from community

BETHEL, Alaska (AP) – Clear weather has allowed a school’s fuel tanks to be removed from an Alaska community where they were threatened by riverbank erosion.

KYUK-AM reported Wednesday that a barge transported the fuel tanks 15 miles (24 kilometers) on the Kuskokwim River from Napakiak to Bethel Tuesday.

The U.S. Coast Guard ordered the Lower Kuskokwim School District in August to relocate the 10 tanks holding 36,000 gallons of diesel to prevent environmental damage.

Faulkner-Walsh Constructors co-owner Steve Walsh says multiple days of high winds and heavy rain delayed the move by more than a week.

Accelerated erosion has been responsible for more than 100 feet (30 meters) of lost shoreline near the community this year.

A new forecast issued Wednesday indicates the possibility of more erosion.
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Information from: KYUK-AM, http://www.kyuk.org