Volusia County, Florida - Mosquito Lagoon Target area is a 121 acre area that was formerly used for Naval Air Operation training from 1945 to 1946. The property is currently owned by the NASA Kennedy Space Center and is managed by the National Park Service (NPS) and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW). A former range and bombing target are recognized in the FUDS program and a Site Inspection (SI) effort was carried out in 2010 resulting in the discovery of munitions debris (i.e., evidence to indicate possible ordnance / UXO contamination).

The site is being tracked in the FUDS program so what's the problem? Well, we see a pretty significant one - The former ranges including a Rocket & Strafing Range and a Dive Bombing Target are not plotted / included on the NOAA charts for the area nor any NPS maps utilized by the public.

The discrepancy is evident in the image below (a larger .pdf version is available using the download link below) developed by UXOInfo.com which overlays the FUDS data with the current NOAA chart for the area.

The only indication of possible UXO in the area plotted by NOAA is a caution note which is over 8 miles away from the former ranges (i.e., note C). This note states - "Trawlers or other vessels should exercise caution while dragging the ocean floor within a 40 mile radius of Cape Canaveral, Florida since it is know that missile debris, some of which may contain UXO, exists in the area." The note is likely referring to the testing associated with NASA as it refers to an area 8-miles away.

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Perran Sands, United Kingdom The St. Agnes Coastguard Rescue Team (CRT) was called into action when a beachgoer found a suspected ordnance item, picked it up, and carried it to a lifeguard stand on the beach. The lifeguards quickly secured the area and notified the Falmouth Coastguard.

CRT took pictures of the item and sent them to a Royal Navy EOD team, who responded to the scene to carry out a controlled explosion to dispose of the UXO. Despite the negligent moving of the item by the person who discovered it, no injuries were reported. The exact type of UXO involved was not reported.

Seattle, Washington The Coast Guard established a temporary safety zone encompassing all waters within 100 yards of Pier 90/91 between terminal 89 and the Elliott Bay Marina Breakwater. The safety zone was setup to help ensure the safety of the maritime public due to discarded military munitions discovered in close proximity to Pier 91.

The USACE (Omaha and Seattle Districts) are working with the Port Authority and the EPA to develop a plan to address munitions in the area which were reportedly disposed of in the area when the Navy utilized the piers from the 1930s through the 1970s. To date, $10M has been slated for the project.

Dahlgren, Virginia The USACE released a notice in the Federal Register to amend the existing permanent danger zone in the waters of the Upper Machodoc Creek and the Potomac River due to concerns for UXO in the area. The change would add a 100-yard buffer to what is known as the 'Middle Danger Area' to prevent public contact with UXO along the shoreline of NSWC Dahlgren.

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Kaho'olawe Island, Hawaii An "open waters" fishing weekend is set for January 24th and 25th which allows boaters to access the waters around Kaho'olawe Island (a former Navy bombing and gunnery range). Although the waters are open for fishing during this time, significant restrictions are in place due to the potential for UXO to be in the waters. Boats must stay in water deeper than 30 fathoms (known as Zone B areas) and must remain under way with all lures or live bait on the surface. The Navy conducted a large-scale clearance of the island but the clearance was focused on the land and not on the waters surrounding the island.

Llandrindod Wells, United Kingdom rumors and other anecdotal information passed down throughout the years suggests that hand grenades and other munitions may have been dumped in a 10-acre lake during WWII. These rumors are now being taken seriously as dredging plans for the lake becomes a reality.

The British Royal Engineers recently completed a magnetomer survey of the lake and a dive to investigate detected anomalies. To date no munitions have been found. A second dive is planned for next month to continue the search for the potential discarded military munitions.

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Bethany Beach, Delaware  Several inert .50 caliber ammunition cartridge casings and a variety of small sized munitions debris fragments were discovered during an on-going beach replenishment project along the Delaware shoreline. The USACE have apparently learned their lesson from the Surf City, New Jersey beach replenishment project and have implemented screens at booth the intake and outlet pipes at the Delaware project to ensure that no large objects or anomalies that could potentially be UXO get pumped up with the sand.

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NOAA released the results of a June 2006 survey of an underwater area off the Hawaiian island of Oahu where discarded military munitions are present. The survey of the area has verified the presence of munitions ranging from small arms projectiles to large-caliber artillery projectiles and naval gun ammunition. The survey was conducted by NOAA, with assistance from the University of Hawaii and the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources.

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The Coast Guard is looking to establish up to 34 permanent ranges within the Great Lakes for live-fire training. The "zones" as they are calling them are located at least 3 nautical miles from shore and will be used for machine gun, small arms, and shot gun training. The Coast Guard needs the ranges for training to prepare for maritime threats including terrorism and drug smuggling. Machine guns were added to Coast Guard cutters back in 2004. Designed to fire up to 600 rounds per minuet, the machine guns increase the capabilities and effectiveness of the Coast Guard in responding to high threat situations and scenarios.

Below is a list of the number of zones the Coast Guard has proposed for each of the Great Lakes. A chart of the upper portion of Lake Michigan with the proposed training zone locations is shown to the right. To view charts of the other lakes, simply click on the name of the lake. The Lake Michigan link will bring up the chart for the lower section of Lake Michigan. Lake Erie 4 Zones Lake Huron 6 Zones Lake Michigan 14 zones Lake Superior 7 Zones Lake Ontario 3 Zones

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