Pullen Creek, located in Skagway, Alaska, is listed on Alaska’s Section of the Environmental
Protection Agency’s (EPA) 1996 303(d) impaired waterbody list and on the Alaska Clean Water
Action (ACWA) list for heavy metal contamination. When it was listed in 1996, there was no
evaluation for Pullen Creek completed by the State of Alaska, and it was therefore carried over to the
EPA 1998 303(d) list. Under the ACWA Program administered through the Alaska Department of
Environmental Conservation (ADEC), Pullen Creek was scheduled for a Total Maximum Daily Load
(TMDL) to recover the waterbody from heavy metal contamination. However, there was a lack of
baseline data for an appropriate evaluation to begin this process.
In July of 2003, the Skagway Traditional Council (STC) applied for and received funding through the
ACWA program to begin gathering baseline contaminant data on Pullen Creek. The purpose of this
Pullen Creek Assessment document is to report the findings of this project and to document a more
complete environmental assessment of Pullen Creek, to be used in future ACWA programs. In
addition to reporting contaminant data, this document also includes: historical and background
information available on the creek, information on fish and fish habitat, an overview of other Pullen
Creek projects, and recommendations for future work.
