As on-site excavations continue, public meeting will be held Nov. 4 on starting a Restoration Advisory Board for Buxton Beach

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers issued the following press release on Friday afternoon, November 1. 

As a reminder, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, will host a public meeting at the Fessenden Center Nov. 4, 2024, from 7 to 9 p.m., to provide information about establishing a Restoration Advisory Board as an option to keep community members updated on the actions taking place at the Buxton Naval Facility, a Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) property located within the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The Fessenden Center is located at 46830 North Carolina Highway 12, Buxton, N.C.

Following the opening remarks and a presentation, attendees will be able to visit with various subject-matter experts from the Corps of Engineers and other agency stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the project, the functions of a RAB and agency stakeholder actions.

“We look forward to this opportunity to interact with the community and explain the functions and responsibilities of a RAB, so they can determine if that’s the right path forward for them,” said the Savannah District Commander, Col. Ron Sturgeon.

“We’ve been actively assessing the site and working toward remediating it since petroleum was first reported in September 2023, and now our response action excavations have been underway for a little over a month. During that time, we’ve been keeping our stakeholders updated on a weekly basis. This site continues to be a top priority for me and my FUDS team.”

Attendees can also learn about the on-going activities since the contractors arrived Oct. 2, 2024, and began the current response action excavations. While the primary purpose of the contract is to remove petroleum-impacted soil, remnant infrastructure that impedes excavation access to impacted soil has been removed, too, but percentages are not being tracked.

“Our team has been very busy,” said Sara Keisler, Savannah District FUDS Program manager. “Right now, we have approximate numbers, but so far we’ve removed 505 cubic yards and 11,000 gallons of petroleum-impacted soil and water, as well as approximately 82,400 pounds of concrete, 1,133 feet of pipes and 1,030 feet of metal cables and wires.”

The current response action contract is estimated to take 60 days to complete, and the team is still anticipating that the work will be completed by the end of November.

“Despite many obstacles, our team is making tremendous progress,” Keisler explained. “The composition and number of team members present (at the excavation site) varies day-to-day, depending on the site conditions and the types of excavations being performed. On average, 12 team members are working on-site.”

Following the excavation response action, the Savannah District will perform comprehensive sampling of soil and groundwater within the project area. The intent of this sampling is to delineate the nature and extent of any petroleum contamination remaining at the FUDS property.