Corps of Engineers plans for more work at Buxton FUDS site

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released the following press release on Thursday, June 13, regarding a roughly 500-yard section of Buxton Beach which has been closed to the public since two offshore hurricanes brushed the Outer Banks in September 2023. The back-to-back storms, (Franklin and Idalia), resulted in heightened erosion, exposed infrastructure from the site’s former military activities, as well as occasional petroleum smells.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to conduct geophysical work to identify any potential fuel distribution components remaining at the Buxton Naval Facility, a Formerly Used Defense Site property located within Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Dare County, North Carolina, as soon as late June, or early July 2024.

“We’re committed to advancing our investigative efforts at the Buxton FUDS project,” said Col. Ron Sturgeon, USACE, Savannah District commander. “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.”

In addition to the geophysical work planned for this summer, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to perform comprehensive sampling at the site sometime later this year. Once the geophysical work is complete, the results will assist with drafting a sampling plan that will be used in the comprehensive sampling efforts. The contract to perform this additional work is anticipated to be awarded in October 2024.

These next steps were identified after recent investigations and the completion of an internal review by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Environmental and Munitions Center of Expertise.

The review included thorough assessment of data from a site visit, interviews with Army Corps of Engineers, National Park Service, U.S. Coast Guard and contractor personnel, as well as a comprehensive evaluation of approximately 40 documents pertaining to prior and current observations, investigations and corrective actions taken at the FUDS property. The document, called The Strategic Optimization Technical Memorandum, is available here EMCX Report.

In addition to completing this internal review, the Army Corps of Engineers also completed pipe removal work at the Buxton FUDS property last month, which included soil sampling. Currently, the contractor is waiting to receive the raw data from the laboratory. Once that is received and reviewed, final results will be shared with the community.