Takeaways from the first Buxton Restoration Advisory Board meeting
The newly formed Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) for the Buxton Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) held its first meeting on Thursday, April 10, and the 11-member group laid a foundation for the board’s next steps.
The RAB consists of representatives from Dare County, the National Park Service, the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, the N.C. Coastal Federation, and Buxton residents. Personnel from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) were also present at Thursday’s meeting to answer questions and provide updates on the ongoing work at the Buxton FUDS property.
Background on Buxton Beach and the new Restoration Advisory Board
The group’s formation began in early November, when the USACE launched an online survey designed to gauge the Outer Banks community’s interest in establishing a RAB for the Buxton Naval Facility FUDS property at the end of Old Lighthouse Road.
A stretch of shoreline in this area has been closed to the public since September 2023, when hurricane-driven erosion revealed leftover infrastructure from the 1956-2010 military base, as well as sporadic but strong petroleum smells.
The consensus by stakeholders is that there are two agencies – the USACE and the U.S. Coast Guard – who are responsible for the left-behind debris, and for cleaning up the shoreline. The petroleum smells and petroleum-contaminated soils (PCS) fall under the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ FUDS program, as the former Buxton military base was declared a FUDS site in 1998.
A section of the beach – the famed Old Lighthouse Beach – reopened at the end of 2024 after an intensive response action by the USACE, but more work remains to fully remediate the shoreline.
Although they are not a decision-making group, members of a RAB can influence cleanup decisions through discussions of ideas, concerns, questions, and by providing direct feedback to the USACE and regulatory agencies.
The RAB members were announced in early April, and are as follows: Mary Ellon Balance, Brett Barley, Sheila Davies, Alyson Flynn, Michael Gould, Betsy Gwin, Brian Harris, Meaghan Johnson, Stewart Nelson, Carla Reynolds, and Lat Williams.
Key takeaways from Thursday’s RAB meeting
Brian Harris selected as Chair of the Buxton RAB
By a unanimous vote, Buxton resident and Buxton Civic Association Co-Vice President Brian Harris was selected as the chairman of the Restoration Advisory Board.
USACE provides updates on remediation efforts
Last year, the USACE launched a response action to remove petroleum-contaminated soils (PCS) and groundwater, which began on November 2 and ended on December 10, 2024. While the focus was on PCS removal, the contractor also removed any structures and debris that were in the way of reaching the contaminated soil and water.
The remediation efforts resulted in the removal of 98,829 gallons of contaminated groundwater, 278,000 pounds of concrete, 1,800 feet of pipe, and 1,000 feet of other metallic debris, such as cables and wires.
While debris and contaminants still remain on the shoreline, a large percentage of the visible debris was eliminated in the late 2024 response.
The next step for remediation by the USACE is testing the 50-acre property to identify the contaminants that remain.
“We will comprehensively sample soil and groundwater within the project area with the intent to delineate the nature and extent of any petroleum contamination remaining at the FUDS property,” said Gail Garland, USACE Savannah District FUDS project manager and RAB Co-Chair. “Once the work plan [for the testing] is accepted, fieldwork will begin.”
An archival study to identify historic contaminants is in the works
The USACE is also conducting a corresponding archival study via the St. Louis District to identify any additional historic contaminants that may need to be addressed by the agency.
“We’re waiting on the report back from the research that the St. Louis District conducted at the National Archives,” said Garland. “What they were looking into specifically was whether or not the Department of Defense contributed to any possible PFA [Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances] contamination and PCB [polychlorinated biphenyls] contamination.”
There is no timeline on when the report will be reviewed and completed, but once it has been finalized, it will guide any new remediation projects by the USACE as needed.
The RAB wants the U.S. Coast Guard at the next meeting
The RAB’s first unanimously-passed resolution was to invite representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard to the board’s next meeting, which will be held in July 2025.
Because the Buxton site was used by both the Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG), both agencies are responsible for a portion of the contaminants that remain at the property.
In 2023/2024, the U.S. Coast Guard conducted a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) investigation to identify contaminants that the agency left behind. While the report found that there were a number of PCBs, heavy metals, pesticides, and PFAs at the site, the levels of these pollutants did not justify any remediation efforts by the USCG, according to the report.
The full report and history of the USCG’s use of the site can be found here.
The issue with these findings for many Buxton advocates, however, is that the thresholds for contaminants in the USCG’s investigation were based on industrial and not residential standards. If residential standards were applied, then the level of pollutants may require the USCG to take action when it comes to cleaning up their share of the contamination.
Almost immediately after the report was released in October 2024, the National Park Service began talks with the USCG about this residential-versus-industrial distinction.
“We are still in discussions with them, but to my knowledge, they’re not planning any actions at this time,” said David Hallac, National Parks of Eastern North Carolina Superintendent.
By requesting USCG representatives to attend the next RAB meeting, board members are hopeful that they can receive more answers and clarity on what can be done to push for Coast Guard-initiated remediation actions.
Discussions will be held on re-opening Buxton Beach
A roughly .3-mile stretch of Buxton shoreline has been closed to the public since September 2023, but a meeting is scheduled next week to discuss the possibility of reopening the beach.
The decision to open or close a beach is made by the National Park Service and the Dare County Department of Health and Human Services, and the agencies are meeting in the near future to determine if the shoreline is safe enough to reopen for the summer season.
Buxton FUDs property remains the USACE’s top priority
Several members of the new Restoration Advisory Board thanked the USACE representatives at Thursday’s meeting for their commitment to Buxton Beach, and their remediation actions to date.
“We appreciate you guys,” said RAB Chair Brian Harris, noting that many of the USACE leaders overseeing the Buxton response were new to their positions, and to the situation. “You guys got thrown into this… So this was a little eye-opening to you guys as well. And you really can’t fix something [quickly] when the ball has been dropped for 30 years.”
“We’re definitely moving forward, and this is a priority,” said USACE Savannah District Commander Col. Ron Sturgeon. “I have plenty of FUDS sites, but Buxton is the only one that I that I pay special, special attention to, and I know that you guys are committed here as well.”
- For more information from the USACE, 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.
