During the Dare County Board of Commissioners monthly meeting on September 3, 2024, Col. Ron Sturgeon, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District commander, discussed the latest updates concerning the Buxton Naval Facility, a Formerly Used Defense Site property located within Cape Hatteras National Seashore in North Carolina.
In September 2023, the National Park Service reached out to the Savannah District to report suspicious organic material that washed up on the beach, smelling like petroleum. Since then, there have been several reports of oil sheens and organic materials. The District FUDS team has continuously worked, since the first reports were received, to determine where the source of the petroleum is originating from.
The beachfront FUDS property creates a unique and ever-changing environment, making it difficult to find a potential source of petroleum. With each major weather event, the beach is transformed. One event will cause erosion, uncovering remnant infrastructure left after the U.S. Navy’s submarine monitoring mission ended in 1982, while another weather event will bring in sand, burying everything.
During one erosion event, a pipe was exposed and thought to possibly be the source of the petroleum. That 70–80-foot piece of pipe was removed, and the surrounding soil was sampled in May.
“I know you’re primarily interested in finding out the results of the soil sampling collected in May, when the pipe was removed,” Sturgeon explained. “Those results are not finalized, yet. But, what I can do is tell you the preliminary data from the soil did detect some petroleum above the state’s screening levels in the area where we took out the pipe. I want to be transparent with that, even before it (the final report) is released.”
In June, geophysical work was accomplished at the FUDS project to determine if there were any underground storage tanks or pipes that could possibly be the source of the petroleum.
“We did some geophysical work and the data that has come back so far is indicating that there aren’t any underground storage tanks,” Sturgeon continued. “All of this really confirms that the (upcoming) comprehensive sampling of the project area is the correct next step to take. So, we’re not done there, and that’s the main point I wanted to say here.”
There are very specific regulations governing the FUDS Program, and the District team has to take each step in the process before they can release reports to the public.
“I acknowledge this is a lengthy process, and each step in this process is required by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Quality Management regulations,” Sturgeon stated. We’ve communicated via public meetings, news releases and social media posts as the details became available, and we’ll continue to do this. We want you to know we’re diligently working toward determining what actions need to be taken to resolve this overall situation.”
Future actions include a contract award for a comprehensive sampling of the area where most of the primary buildings were located when the Navy occupied the property.
“I have met with agency representatives, as well as some from the community who live and work here, and I understand the frustrations with the processes we’re going through,” stated Sturgeon. “I can tell you there is a way ahead. We have the comprehensive testing that will be underway and will be (possibly) contracted out in October.”
The FUDS team is also working toward awarding a contract for support in providing public meetings and possibly establishing a Restoration Advisory Board.
“One thing I wanted to hit on, is that we’re in the process of awarding a contract for a Restoration Advisory Board,” Sturgeon went on to say. “The first meeting should be held in late October, early November, which will provide an in-depth discussion about the requirements to establish a RAB. The support contractor will help the District to ascertain the level of interest from the community and (explain) what type of commitment is required.”
Another option is a quarterly public meeting. Public meetings provide access to all community members, giving the community, as a whole, the opportunity to attend the meetings to discuss the environmental restoration process, to participate in dialogue, and provide comments and present advice, through the contractor, to the District’s decision makers concerning the Buxton FUDS project.
“The RAB has the same options as the public meetings, but it requires a long-term commitment on the part of its board members, including the public participants,” Sturgeon said. “We want to make sure that’s the right direction the community wants to take.”
If it’s determined there is not enough interest or commitment to sustain a RAB, public meetings will be scheduled, in place of the RAB, on a quarterly basis to keep the public informed of activities and the results.
The commander ended by stating, “There are 46 FUDS sites that we manage over six states, and Buxton is the one that has received my full and undivided attention. That is a reinforcing fire that this site is a priority for me and for my team, as well.”
After Col. Sturgeon’s comments, the board members thanked the commander for his service and for coming to the board in person. They also had some questions and comments for him. The overall consensus was the process is taking too long.
“A very special thank you for you and your team going to Buxton directly after this meeting in person,” said Dare County Board Commissioner Bob Ross. “What we’ve heard from public comment (today) is rather disturbing, with regard to the petroleum odor and so forth that the winds have kicked up there (today). My question is, what is your estimate – how many more weeks or months to determine the results of the soil samples taken four months ago?”
Board members stated, it’s been a year since the first reports and one 70–80-foot pipe has been removed, some sampling has been done and the geophysical work has been done, but none of the reports are final, yet. They wanted to know when the soil sampling report from May would be finalized, and voiced frustrations with the cost of the pipe removal.
“Am I right in understanding that there are two agencies that have to make this review, is that correct?” Dare County Board Commissioner, Chair Robert Woodard, Sr., asked. “Why hasn’t’ the National Park Service seen the report?”
Col. Sturgeon explained the process, letting the board know data has to be reviewed internally, by the Environmental and Munitions Center of Expertise and then it can be reviewed by the agency stakeholders, before his team finalizes it.
After the meeting, Col. Sturgeon, along with the Savannah District FUDS Program manager, Sara Keisler, and Glenn Marks, District Reimbursable Branch chief, made the hour drive to the Buxton FUDS property to get a first-hand view of the conditions.
The conditions have changed a lot since May and storms off the coast have created another erosion event, uncovering remnant infrastructures and what appears to be a sheen with the smell of petroleum.
Since the visit to the FUDS property Sept. 3, Dave Hallac, the superintendent of National Parks of Eastern North Carolina, wrote in an email Sept. 5, “We are working with the Coast Guard Sector N.C. and the EPA’s Regional Response team to see if there is some way the saturated sections of petroleum soil that are being uncovered can be removed to mitigate the releases into the ocean. We are also asking if something can be done to prevent the sheens that are coming out of the sand/water interface from washing into the ocean.”
For a property to be eligible to be classified as a FUDS property, sites had to be formerly owned by, leased to, or otherwise possessed, by the United States and transferred outside Department of Defense control prior to October 1986. The Buxton Naval Facility is an eligible FUDS property because it was transferred from the Navy’s control in 1982.
This site is further complicated because after the Navy departed the area, the property was then used by the U.S. Coast Guard until 2010, before they returned it to the management of the National Park Service. The FUDS Program can only address hazards that resulted from pre-1986 DoD activity.
In an email dated Sept. 4, Hallac noted, “The large areas of petroleum saturated soil were located in the footprint of the Coast Guard’s drain field.”
Hallac stated he expects the situation (around the FUDS area) to degrade even further as the winds coming out of the north, northeast are expected to continue over the coming days.