UXO Site selected: Camp Joseph T. Robinson, ARStuttgart Army Airfield, ARCamp Chaffee, ARFormer Southwestern Proving Grounds (SWPG), ARShumaker Naval Ammunition Depot, ARMAUMELLE ORDNANCE WORKS, AR |
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General Area: North Little Rock, ARStuttgart, ARFort Smith, ARHope, ARCamden, AR, AR Site Type/Program: FUDSFUDSFUDSFUDSFUDSFUDS Location: The former Camp Robinson is located just north of and bordering the city of North Little Rock. The four major areas are located on the perimeter of the current Camp Robinson.Stuttgart Army Airfield (AAF) is located in east-central Arkansas approximately six miles north of the City of Stuttgart.Fort Chaffee is an active Army installation located just east of Ft.. Smith. The FUDS consisting of 4724 acres are various sized parcels located around the perimeter of Ft. Chaffee. There are 4 main FUDS; 1) Ben Geren Park, 2) 2 landfills, 3) property in the vicinity of the Arkansas River, and 4) property at the east end of Ft.. Chaffee. Current use of the FUDS includes public and private recreational property, landfills owned by the City of Ft.. Smith, a lock & dam operated by the Corps of Engineers, and residential and agricultural property. Further development of the FUDS at the east end of Ft.. Chaffee appears likely.The former Southwestern Proving Grounds is situated on approximately 50,078 acres in southwest Arkansas. The site is rectangular with approximate dimensions of 19 miles in the north-south direction and 5 miles in the east-west direction. The site is divided into two sections, north of the firing line and south of the firing line, by County Road 32. The area north of the firing line was used primarily as an impact area. The area south of the firing line contained the housing, storage, and maintenance facilities.The Shumaker Naval Ammunition Depot (NAD) is located several miles northeast of Camden, Arkansas in the counties of Calhoun and Ouachita, Arkansas. Brief History: In 1917, the United States acquired 6,000 Acres for use as an encampment known as Camp Pike. In 1937, Camp Pike was renamed Camp Joseph T. Robinson. During World War II, Camp Robinson expanded to 48,188.43 Acres and was used for basic training and to house German Prisoners of War. Camp Robinson was declared surplus after World War II and in August 1950, 32,884.08 Acres were conveyed to the Military Department of the State of Arkansas. The remaining 15,304.34 Acres were disposed of as follows; 571.3 Acres to the city of North Little Rock for an airport, 365 Acres conveyed to Central Baptist College, 870.77 Acres conveyed to the city of North Little Rock for a park, and 13,465.78 Acres conveyed to Private Ownerships. DOD retained 31.5 Acres for a U.S. Army Reserve Center.The U.S. Government acquired 2,681.9 acres during 1942 and 1943 to be used as an advanced twin engine aircraft training school. Improvements to the site included an airport with four 5,000-ft. runways and facilities for 6,000 personnel. Declared surplus by the War Department on 5 August 1946, 2,635.7 acres were assumed by the War Assets Administration (WAA). Custody of the remaining 46.2 acres, which contained the housing units and the water and sewage facilities, was transferred to the Housing and Home Finance Agency, Public Housing Administration, on 31 January 1947. In 1949, the WAA land and improvements were deeded to the City of Stuttgart, Arkansas, to establish the municipal airport. The city subsequently obtained the remaining 46.2 acres from the Public Housing Administration and now owns the entire 2,681.9 acres used in connection with the former Stuttgart AAF. The transfer included a recapture clause by which the Government reserved specific rights of use and possession during a national emergency. The U.S. Army Air Corps established an advanced flying school at Stuttgart AAF in August 1942. It trained pilots in the use of gliders from October 1942 to May 1943 and twin-engine airplanes from May 1943 to December 1944 when DOD deactivated the field. The function of the 2062nd Ordnance Company stationed at Stuttgart AAF included the operation of the armament, skeet and pistol ranges.During World War II, Ft. Chaffee was known as Camp Chaffee. Camp Chaffee was constructed in 1941 and consisted of approximately 76,482 acres. Ft. Chaffee now consists of approximately 71,758 acres. The primary mission of Camp Chaffee was armor training. Engineer training areas were also established near the Arkansas River. Ft. Chaffee continues as an armor and artillery training facility. The FUDS were disposed of at various times beginning after World War II continuing to the present.The site was used by the U.S. Army Air Corps and the U.S. Army Ordnance Department as a proving ground between January 1942 and September 1945. Government acquisition of the land began in 1941, and construction of facilities was underway by August of that year. In January 1942, the first artillery round was fired. A wide range of inert-filled and live ordnance, including small caliber machine gun ammunition, 20-mm to 155-mm projectiles, mortars, rockets, grenades, and up to 500-pound bombs were tested at the site. Many of these ordnance items contained high explosive filler and were fuzed. Most of the ordnance was fired from one of several firing line positions at the southern part of the facility to target areas located to the north. In September 1945, SWPG was closed. Shortly thereafter, a UXO contractor removed unexploded ammunition and scrap metal from the ground surface of the entire site. Between 1946 and 1960, the property was conveyed to state, municipal and private ownerships. Some (most?) deeds were restricted to "surface use only". Due to technological limitations during the original site clean-up, the contractor had no way of detecting ordnance that had gone beneath the ground surface. Over the years, natural phenomena such as erosion, and human actions such as cultivation, have caused some ordnance to come to the surface. Large quantities of UXO remain on the surface and in the shallow subsurface of the former proving ground. Five (5) civilian fatalities from a single incident in 1949 have been confirmed, however, past reports of twenty-six (26) deaths are believed to be exaggerated. Regardless, ordnance at the site, although more than fifty (50) years old, remains dangerous.Before 1944, the area was strictly rural and used for farming purposes. The site was operated by the U.S. Navy from 1944 until 1957 for the manufacture, testing, storage, distribution, disassembly, reworking, and destruction of ammunition, bombs, and explosives, principally rockets. It was operated by the National Fireworks Ordnance Corporation as a government owned - contractor operated (GOCO) facility under the supervision of U.S. Navy personnel. Improvements to the site included an extensive railroad system, hundreds of reinforced concrete storage magazines, and an eight-mile long rocket test range in addition to production and handling facilities for all types of high explosive admixtures, to include TNT, Composition "B,@ Ammonium Nitrate, RDX Base and aluminum powder. The facility was declared excess by the GSA in 1960 and was subsequently conveyed by the GSA to various individuals in 1960 and 1961. A proposed statement of contamination was approved by the District Public Works Office of New Orleans in February 1961. At the time of the Navy's departure there were only two bidders, International Paper (I.P.) and Highland Resources (Brown Engineering was the parent company). I.P. purchased roughly 40,000 acres, while Highland acquired 25,000 acres. Highland's area included the old headquarters compound, production facilities, and hundreds of warehouses and underground bunkers where ammunition and explosives had been stored.No data available |
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Range / Site Description: Associated Munitions: No data available Activities Completed: This Archives Search Report was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District in May 1994.Archives Search Report for Stuttgart Army Airfield was completedThe ASR was completed by St Louis District in May 1994An Archive Search Report (ASR) was completed for this site in December 1993 by the Rock Island District. An Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EE/CA) has been prepared, and included intrusive sampling at the site. The study characterized the site, formulated risk reduction alternatives, and offered recommendations. Generally, recommendations consisted of dividing the site into six (6) areas, based on land use and extent of UXO. Two of the areas, the "buffer" area and the site of the old administration buildings and airport, have little or no UXO and no remedial action will be taken in these areas. EE/CA sampling results indicate that the other four (4) areas contain varying amounts of UXO. In these areas, a five-phase plan was established, in the EE/CA, for reducing the risk of UXO to the public. The total cost of this plan is approximately $42 million. The plan, initially, addresses those areas which have the most risk to the public (Priority 1 areas). Subsurface UXO removal actions in these areas are estimated to cost $9 million.The ASR was completed by the St. Louis District in March 1995 assigning an overall RAC score of 2 due to the probability of OE contamination.Under way Issues: A TCRA is not warranted and the RAC score of 1 remains. Area 1: Not FUDS eligible.The ASR reported that soil from a former small arms range has been contaminated by lead and was subsequently used as fill for the construction of race track embankments. Because the soil was relocated, the project could have potentially responsible party (PRP) implications. This area is under Project No.K06AR006303.The only evidence of ordnance use or ordnance presence of the FUDS was obtained during an interview with a Logan County Sheriff's Deputy. He indicated a mortar round had been found in the FUDS at the east end of Ft. Chaffee. The former land owner was contacted and indicated that four (4) ordnance items suspected of being mortar rounds were found on his property in about 1979. He also indicated there were bunkers on the hillside adjacent to the flat ground where the ordnance was found. No OE or CWM was found during the site inspection. Two areas are suspected of ordnance presence. The hillside area consists of approximately 50 acres. No bunkers were found during the site inspection but it is possible this was a mortar impact area. The flat land area consists of approximately 30 acres. No ordnance was found during the site inspection, but this is the area where the four mortar rounds were found. During World War II, this entire area was clear. Approximately half of this area now is either heavily wooded or in very tall thick grass. There was no INPR completed prior to the ASR. The ASR included a RAC worksheet with a score of 2. An INPR was completed 30 May 1996 and it includes a RAC worksheet with a score of 1.The Removal Action was awarded to EOD Technology on 25 June 1997. The contractor's Work Plan has been approved by the Contracting Officer, and the Explosive Safety Submission has been approved by USATCES-Savannah. The DDESB is still reviewing the ESS. The removal action is scheduled to begin in early January 1998.No data available Other Information: EE/CAEE/CAEE/CA Area 4 - NOFA Areas(1-3)Removal Action |
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