Frustrations simmer at public meeting on Buxton Beach

Frustrations were evident at a community meeting hosted by the Cape Hatteras National Seashore (CHNS) on Wednesday, March 27, that aimed to explain the complicated and evolving situation at Buxton Beach.

A roughly 500-yard stretch of beach at the end of Old Lighthouse Road has been closed to the public since two offshore hurricanes – Idalia and Franklin – brushed the Outer Banks in early September 2023, revealing old infrastructure and new, sporadic waves of petroleum smells and sheens.

The meeting, which attracted an estimated 90 attendees, began with a presentation by CHNS Superintendent David Hallac that outlined the history of the military site, the agencies involved in potential clean-up efforts, and what has happened over the last six months as the issues have grown.

“In 2023/2024, we started seeing a lot of debris, strong odors of petroleum, and occasional sheens at the site. So, this [was] the beginning of a problem,” said Hallac. “If you’ve been out to the beach, you’ve seen it – steel pipes, concrete rubble, peat soil… This is historic marsh peat from thousands of years ago [and] it smells like somebody might have poured diesel on that soil.”

In 1956, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore issued a special use permit to the Navy for the construction and operation of Naval Facility Cape Hatteras, based on the condition that the military leave the site exactly as they had found it after they left.

The Navy base was used for submarine detection during the height of the Cold War from 1956 to 1982, and the U.S. Coast Guard acquired the facility in 1984, and subsequently used the site until the mid-2000s.

Because the site was used by both the Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard, the consensus is that the two agencies are responsible for different aspects of the massive remediation efforts required.

The exposed infrastructure and persistent petroleum smells and sheens fall under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers [Corps] Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) program, which addresses environmental liabilities that resulted from Department of Defense activities prior to 1986.

But a corresponding and separate issue of pesticides and PCBs, (which are manmade organic chemicals consisting of carbon, hydrogen, and chlorine atoms), is likely linked to the U.S. Coast Guard, as these problems were present at the site when the Coast Guard completely left the facilities around 2010.

“We [the National Park Service] are involved in the situation, because we, as the government, happen to own the land on the site,” said Hallac at Wednesday’s meeting. “The Army Corps of Engineers, who were not able to attend tonight, are responsible for restoring Department of Defense sites that were used before 1986.”

Captain Timothy List, Sector North Carolina Commander of the U.S. Coast Guard, was present at the meeting, and thanked the crowd for their passion, attesting that the Coast Guard was passionate about the problem too, and was working towards remediation efforts. “We’re committed to engage with the Corps as our other main partner, and as the FUDs site manager for the Department of Defense, [and] the Coast Guard senior leadership is engaging at the D.C. level as well.”

But the primary vexation that simmered at the meeting was the amount of time that it was taking to complete studies and come up with an action plan to fix the ongoing public health and environmental emergency before it becomes a catastrophe.

The Corps had previously conducted remediation initiatives under the FUDS program in the 1990s and early 2000s, removing an estimated 4006 tons of petroleum-contaminated soils [PCS] between 2000 and 2005. They also demolished structures and buildings, including a large portion of the now-exposed Terminal Building, which contained a miles-long cable that extended into the ocean for submarine detection. They removed seven above-ground storage tanks (ASTs) and 27 underground storage tanks (USTs) in the 1990s, based on past Corps reports.

But the response since new issues resurfaced in September 2023 has been painfully slow.

In late October, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Savannah District announced that they were working with partner agencies – namely the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality – on investigative efforts to determine “any necessary corrective actions” under the umbrella of the FUDS program. But in February 2024, after a months-long investigation, the Corps stated that they could not find a direct source of petroleum, so they would be unable to conduct immediate clean-up efforts.

A press release from the Corps was released an hour before Wednesday’s 6:00 p.m. meeting, stating that additional investigations and efforts by the Corps would continue.

“The Army Corps of Engineers Summary Report recommends continued coordination with the National Parks Service to study what storm, tide, and wave conditions have led to occasions where the organic material washes onto the shore as well as conditions that lead to the noticeable odor. Developing a predictive model, in as much as one can be developed, would allow USACE to be proactive and have a team in place, to not only verify the conditions, but to try to find the source,” stated the press release.

“The Army Corps of Engineers will continue working with its partners to assess whether recently reported contamination is linked to DoD activities prior to 1986. However, remedial action using the FUDS Program is not authorized due to an unknown source. Additionally, the concrete structures that were uncovered after years of erosion on the beach were not associated with the petroleum or the initial cleanup of the area that occurred in the 1990s, which also means those remnants are currently ineligible for removal under the FUDS Program.”

“The [press release] that just came out sounded like more of the same – we need to study, we need to study, we need to study,” said an attendee at Wednesday’s meeting. “It didn’t sound very positive. It didn’t sound like there was a lot of ‘This is what we’re going to do, let’s get to work…’ Really, the whole article talked about figuring out who was responsible during what time, and let’s study some more. That sounds like it’s just pushing the ball further down the field.”

This frustration was echoed by multiple people at the meeting, who lived in the area and were concerned about the health issues that the petroleum smells and sheens and old infrastructure were causing.

“I go to that beach every day. I swim in that water. I’m going blind because of that water,” said one attendee. “So, what is the plan to get rid of that [stuff?]”

While the National Park Service [NPS] is not the lead agency for remediating the problems – an undertaking that will likely require millions of dollars and extensive resources – it was clear at the meeting that the NPS representatives were also discouraged by the lack of progress.

“We are pretty frustrated as well,” said Hallac.

After a brief recap of the problems, however, the attendees’ discussion turned to action.

One of the prevalent themes among public questions and comments at the meeting was about what residents and visitors could do to get the ball moving, and moving much faster.

“They need to come up with an action plan, and we need to really force them into that position,” said one attendee. “Whatever we need to do as the public and as the people that live here, please let us know, because we’ll be on it like white on rice… we are action people here.”

Dare County Commissioner Ervin Bateman noted at the meeting that Commissioner Danny Couch, Commissioner Wally Overman, Commissioner Chairman Bob Woodard, and County Manager Bobby Outten were all in D.C. on Wednesday night, meeting with Senator Ted Budd, Senator Thom Tillis, and others to foster action on a national level.

“These guys are are in Washington D.C. on their own time trying to make a difference, and get this thing to light,” said Commissioner Bateman.

But the attendees at Wednesday’s meeting tended to concur that more homegrown actions and initiatives were needed to nudge a solution forward.

“Get yourself organized,” said John Couch. “The [Outer Banks Preservation Society] did it 25 years ago… We got together, we formed groups, and we got something done.”

After the meeting, several attendees said they were in the beginning stages of forming an organized group that would create a united and vocal front on the issue. “Myself, [and other Buxton residents] will be the founding members, along with John Couch, who will file the paperwork,” said Buxton resident Brian Harris. “We will appoint a Board of Directors over the next few weeks.”

In addition, attendee Deb Hoyt encouraged the folks at the meeting to join the email and letter-writing campaign, which was recently launched by Buxton community members.

In the meantime, a public health advisory remains in place for the area, and the Buxton Beach Access remains closed.

“I understand that this is a tough issue,” said Hallac. “I probably spent over 1000 hours working on this away from my family, missed sporting events with my kids, dealing with this for the last six months. I’m really sorry it’s happening.”

“This is not pollution from the National Park Service, [but] we are really doing our best to work with the Army Corps of Engineers and others. They [the Corps] have not responded to do any action at this point in time, and I cannot speak for them. I just felt it was important for me to share with all of you the information that I had, and be open about it.”

How the public can help, for now

A good starting point is to join the ongoing email and letter-writing campaign, which was recently launched by Deb Hoyt and Susan Sigmon of Buxton.

In a Thursday interview, Hatteras Island Commissioner Danny Couch said that based on the county representatives’ conversations with officials in Washington, D.C., the campaign was working.

“In D.C., the engagement was there, [and] there are higher-level communications going on. When you have the public behind you, that just underscores how important the issue is,” he said. “The emails are working, but there’s no need to get complacent. Public pressure can have a big impact on this.”

• Click here for a suggested email template from Deb Hoyt.
• Click here for a sample contact list of legislators and stakeholders.

Also, visitors who encounter a petroleum smell or fuel sheens while visiting the Buxton shoreline near Old Lighthouse Road should call the National Response Center at 1-800-424-8802 to report the encounter. Include the date, time, location, and basic details of what was seen or smelled, and do not call if you have not experienced the issue first-hand, or have not been physically affected. The National Response Center is solely for reporting real-time information on petroleum smells or sheens in the Buxton area, as they happen.

For a scannable FAQ on the history and current issues at Buxton Beach, published on March 25, click here.

To view the latest update from the Corps, released on March 27, click here.