The Dare County Department of Health & Human Services has issued a revised public health advisory for Buxton Beach, due to the December 19 reopening of a portion of the beach closure.
Following a 60-day interim response action by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps), the Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS) reopened an approximately two-tenths-of-a-mile section of beach starting at the southernmost jetty in Buxton and continuing to the south, also known as Old Lighthouse Beach.
Varying sections of Buxton Beach have been closed to the public since September 2023, after two offshore hurricanes revealed petroleum smells and abandoned infrastructure from a former 1956-2010 military base.
This recently-reopened section of the Buxton shoreline was closed on September 5, 2024, after heightened erosion resulted in the further degradation of the Buxton Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) site.
The decision to essentially revert to the original three-tenths-of-a-mile closure area adjacent to the Buxton FUDS site, also known as the Buxton Beach Access, was made after factoring in the amount of contaminated soil and water removed by the Corps and the prolonged period of time between the last report of apparent petroleum sheens or odors in the area.
The public health advisory issued by Dare County on December 31 can be found here.
In the coming months, the Corps is expected to comprehensively sample soil and groundwater within the Buxton FUDS with the intent to delineate the nature and extent of any petroleum contamination remaining at the site
- For more information about the Corps’ actions at the Buxton FUDS, visit their Buxton Naval Facility FUDS website.
- For more information from the Cape Hatteras National Seashore, visit their Buxton Beach Access website
- Developing info from the Buxton Civic Association (BCA) can also be accessed via the organization’s website at BuxtonCivic.com or through the BCA’s official Facebook page.
