The Army Corps of Engineers said Thursday it plans to begin as soon as this month geophysical work to identify any potential fuel distribution components remaining at the Buxton Naval Facility site that’s part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.
In its announcement, the Corps said the subsurface survey work would begin no later than early July and that a contractor would perform comprehensive sampling at the Formerly Used Defense Site, or FUDS, site in Dare County sometime later this year.
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“We’re committed to advancing our investigative efforts at the Buxton FUDS project,” said Col. Ron Sturgeon, the Corps’ Savannah District commander, in a statement. “After thoroughly reviewing the data collected to date at the site, we have determined that a more comprehensive investigation is needed within the project area to further assess the site based on current conditions.”
Officials said that once the geophysical work was complete, the results would be used in drafting a plan to follow in the comprehensive sampling. A contract for the additional work is anticipated to be awarded in October.
The Corps said these next steps were identified after recent investigations and the completion of an internal review by its Environmental and Munitions Center of Expertise. The review included thorough assessment of data from a site visit, interviews with Corps, National Park Service, Coast Guard and contractor personnel, as well as a evaluation of 40 or so documents pertaining to prior and current observations, investigations and corrective actions taken at the FUDS site. The document, called The Strategic Optimization Technical Memorandum, is available in the center’s report.
The Corps said it also completed pipe removal work at the Buxton FUDS site last month, work that also included soil sampling. The contractor was waiting to receive the raw data from the laboratory, the Corps said, and once that is received and reviewed, final results will be publicly shared.
