Waste Site Cleanup & Reuse in New England
Massachusetts Military Reservation
Protecting
Cape Cod's drinking water continues to be a major focus at EPA New
England. The Massachusetts Military Reservation (MMR), a 22,000-acre
property that has been used for military training activities since
1911, is located over a sole source aquifer that provides drinking
water for 200,000 year-round and 500,000 seasonal residents of Cape
Cod. Parts of the aquifer have been contaminated by fuel spills
and other past activities at MMR's Otis Air Force Base. Two environmental cleanup programs at the MMR are addressing areas of groundwater contamination, known as plumes, and their sources. One program managed by the Air Force 
is addressing contamination found primarily on the southern portion of the MMR under the authority of Superfund. The other, managed by the Army, is addressing contamination from the northern portion of the base, Camp Edwards, under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act. Both of these program's efforts are being conducted with oversight from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection.
Upcoming Meetings and Events
October 13 - November 13, 2014 Public Comment Period: Remedy Selection Plan
- Proposed Remedy Selection Plan for the J-3 Range (PDF) (16 pp , 2.1 MB, about PDF)
- Final J-3 Range Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study (PDF) (3,468 pp , 87.1 MB, about PDF)
February 5 – March 5, 2014 Public Comment Period: Remedy Selection Plan
- Proposed Remedy Selection Plan for the Small Arms Ranges Joint Base Cape Cod (PDF) (6 pp, 1.9 MB, about PDF)
- Final Small Arms Ranges Investigation Report, January 2014 (PDF) (3,322 pp, 113 MB, about PDF)
Point of Contact:
Kate Melanson (melanson.kate@epa.gov)
Community Involvement Coordinator
617-918-1491
July 17 – August 16, 2013 Public Comment Period: 2 Remedy Selection Plans
- J-2 Range Remedy Selection Plan (PDF)
(17 pp, 1.4 MB, about PDF)
- J-2 Range Remedial Investigation/ Feasibility Study (PDF) (5,641 pp, 176.1 MB, about PDF)
- Demolition Area 1 Remedy Selection Plan (PDF) (12 pp, 1.8 MB, about PDF)
March 11- April 9, 2013 Public Comment Period: Modified Training, Camp Edwards
- Letter from EPA to MAARNG: Response to Request for Modification to Administrative Order 2 (AO2), March 11, 2013 (PDF) (4 pp, 565 K, about PDF)
- Letter from MAARNG to EPA: Request for Modification to Administrative Order 2 (AO2), January 25, 2013 (PDF) (2 pp, 623 K, about PDF)
- M69 Training Device Informational Packet, Camp Edwards, August 6, 2012 (PDF) (12 pp, 799 K, about PDF)
- News Release: EPA Seeks Public Input on Camp Edwards Proposed Training Device
Former A Range, Former K Range and Gun and Mortar Positions Decision
- News Release: EPA Completes Cleanup Decisions for Three Camp Edwards Areas
- Decision Document: Former A Range, Former K Range, and Gun and Mortar Positions, September 2012 (PDF) (51 pp, 7.6 MB, about PDF)
- Former A Range, Former K Range and Gun and Mortar Positions Decision Document Fact Sheet, 06/01/2012 (PDF) (11 pp, 3 MB, about PDF)
Central Impact Area
- News Release: EPA Reaches Cleanup Decision for the Central Impact Area (CIA)
- CIA Decision Document (PDF) (97 pp, 63.5 MB, about PDF)
Recent Neighborhood Activity: J-1 Southern Plume Treatment System Construction: Forestdale. From September 24 – November 2012, the U.S. Army's cleanup program will be installing an underground extraction well and pipeline in the vicinity of Grand Oak Road. Read the full notice (PDF) (2 pp, 3.2 MB, about PDF).
- Area Plume Map (PDF) (1 pg, 1.7 MB, about PDF)
Latest Cleanup Information at the Massachusetts Military Reservation
- 2012 Close-up Impact Area Groundwater Study Program Plume Map (PDF) (1 pg, 388 K, about PDF)
- 2012 MMR Groundwater Plume Map (PDF) (1 pg, 3.5 MB, about PDF)
- Maps & Information: Army Cleanup Program, March 2012 (PDF) (26 pp, 3.7 MB, about PDF)
- Groundwater Plume Maps & Information, Air Force Cleanup Program (PDF) (31pp, 13.4 MB, about PDF)
- Final Community Involvement Plan Addendum, March 10, 2010 (PDF) (20 pp, 3.5 MB, about PDF)
- Q&As about the Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP), March 2011 (PDF) (2 pp, 470 K, about PDF)
Camp Edwards
Concerned that military training was causing even more damage to
the groundwater, EPA's New England Office in February 1997 (AO1 (PDF) (29 pp, 63 K, about
PDF)) ordered the National Guard to conduct a study of the effects of
military training on groundwater. In May 1997 (AO2 (PDF) (33 pp, 73 K, about
PDF)), EPA suspended most military training at Camp Edwards, including
all use of live explosives, propellants, flares and lead bullets.
It was the first time in our country's history that military training
activities had been halted due to environmental and public health
concerns. The groundwater study, which is ongoing, has produced
evidence of serious groundwater and soil contamination from training
with munitions, from unexploded ordnance and from disposal of munitions
and other hazardous materials.
As a result of the evidence of contamination, EPA in January 2000
(AO3 (PDF) (44 pp, 107 K, about PDF)) ordered the National Guard to begin the process for the removal
of unexploded ordnance from the base and to clean up contaminated
groundwater and soils. The order was the first of its kind in the
country. And in January 2001 (AO4 (PDF) (39 pp, 102 K, about PDF)), EPA ordered the military to use a detonation chamber at the base
to destroy the more than 2,500 rounds of different kinds of ammunition
dug out of burial pits on the base during the course of the military's
investigation of pollution at the firing ranges.
All four of EPA's orders were issued under the agency's emergency powers to prevent imminent and substantial endangerment to public health. (The first three orders were issued under the Safe Drinking Water Act, the fourth under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.)
| EPA Administrative Orders |
EPA Decision Documents | |
| Perchlorate Read about EPA's study on perchlorate... more |
Press Releases | |
| Resources Otis Superfund Fact Sheet and related EPA Web sites ... Mass. DEP MMR site and other MMR sites ... more |
Small Arms Ranges |