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On Dec. 18, Dare County Commissioners, meeting in special session, agreed to send a letter to North Carolina’s two United States senators asking for help cleaning up the Formerly Used Defense Site in Buxton.

One letter, dated Dec. 12, 2024, has been sent from three organizations: Buxton Civic Association, Southern Environmental Law Center and North Carolina Coastal Federation.

That letter acknowledges the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has started cleaning-up petroleum contamination exposed by recent erosion at the Buxton site. The letter states “We are grateful for these initial efforts and the constructive attitude shown by Corps leadership.”

It continues: “However, those officials have informed the community that, due to the nature of Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) funding, the Army lacks authorization from Congress to complete the clean-up by removing the significant volume of abandoned foundations, pipes, and other former Navy and Coast Guard infrastructure that is not itself currently known to be contaminated by petroleum and other substances.”

The letter asks the senators to work to amend the National Defense Authorization Act and provide the Army with “unambiguous direction and adequate funding to fully restore the Buxton site to its natural condition – the way it was before impacted by the Navy and Coast Guard.”

The letter asks the Army to:

• “Remove all concrete, piping, wiring, and other materials associated with Navy and Coast Guard use of the site;
• “Remove all soil, sand, ground and surface water contaminated by petroleum products, solvents, fire-fighting chemicals, metals, pesticides, or other toxins, regardless of the source, within the boundaries of the site previously used by or under control of the Navy or Coast Guard;
• “Replace all sand and soil removed from the site with at least equal volumes of clean sand and soil in the same locations or in nearby locations specified by the Superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore;
• “Perform all investigations and studies necessary to identify the location and nature of all infrastructure and contamination associated with Navy and Coast Guard use of the site;
• “Carry out all activities authorized and directed by this legislation in coordination with a Restoration Advisory Board established for the Buxton site; and,
• “Not later than December 31, 2025, initiate the work required to achieve complete restoration of the site.”

The next to last paragraph of the letter acknowledges that it may not be possible to achieve these goals in the current Congressional session. “We are prepared to work with you to ensure that appropriate legislation granting the Army Corps unambiguous authority and adequate funding needed to accomplish the above-listed tasks is enacted in 2025.”

The letter is signed by:

Heather Jennette, Buxton Civic Association,

Julie Furr Youngman, Elizabeth Rasheed, Southern Environmental Law Center

Braxton Davis, Alyson Flynn, North Carolina Coastal Federation

The letter is copied to Congressman Gregory Murphy, 3rd District, North Carolina, Robert L. Outten, Dare County Manager and Attorney, Josh Stein, North Carolina Attorney General and Governor-Elect, Mary Penny Kelley, Secretary for the Environment, N.C. Department of Environmental Quality, Col. Ronald Sturgeon, Commander and District Engineer USACE, Savannah District, Glenn Marks, Savannah District Reimbursable Branch Chief, Kyle Lewis, Senior Environmental Assistant District Counsel, USACE, Savannah District, David Hallac, Superintendent, Cape Hatteras National Seashore, National Park Service.

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