Plum Tree Island -- Local residents may hear, feel Corps munitions detonation set for Feb. 4

Posted February 3, 2010
By Jerry Rogers
Norfolk District Public Affairs

2/3/2010 - NORFOLK, Va. — Residents of Poquoson, Yorktown, Hampton and Langley Air Force Base may hear or feel explosions Feb. 4, as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, or USACE, and its contractor Shaw Environmental, Inc., conduct an on-site munitions detonation at Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge.

The USACE project manager and contractor will coordinate the establishment of a temporary 2,500-yard exclusion zone with the U.S. Coast Guard, Langley Air Force Base and local emergency responders prior to the detonation. Members of the U.S. Coast Guard, Coast Guard Auxiliary and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which manages the Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge, will be offshore to enforce the exclusion zone.

Additionally, the Coast Guard will publish a broadcast notice to mariners to inform the maritime community of this and future detonations. The on-scene coordinator will monitor VHF channel 16 and 13 and marine broadcasts will air every 15 minutes, one hour prior to closing an area and throughout the detonation sequence. The on-scene coordinator may also expand or reduce the overall size of the exclusion zone as conditions warrant.

This on-site detonation is part of the USACE two-year, two-phase remedial investigation and feasibility study of the former aerial bombing range.

Phase I of USACE fieldwork was conducted from January through early April 2009. The fieldwork consisted of munitions investigation in the northern portion of the refuge and along the southern shoreline using metal detecting instruments. This process helps identify areas that may require future cleanup work.

Phase II fieldwork began Jan. 4, 2010 and is focusing on the interior of the southern portion of the property. Work will continue through March, and consists of investigation of munitions and collection of soil, sediment and water samples for testing.

"The primary focus of the remedial investigation is to characterize the nature and extent of Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) and Munitions Constituents, or MC, at the refuge," said George Follett, Corps project manager.

Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge is formerly known as the Plum Tree Island Range and was used for aerial bombing and gunnery practice from 1917 through the late 1950s. The former bombing range, which consisted of approximately 3,200 acres, was transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1972.

With the exception of waterfowl hunting on adjacent Cow Island, which was not part of the bombing range, the refuge is closed to all public use due to the potential for encountering unexploded ordnance.

For more information on ongoing fieldwork at Plum Tree Island, visit the Norfolk District Plum Tree Island Website.