[CPEO-MEF] "Efforts at Former Military Sites on Vieques and Culebra, Puerto Rico, Are Expected to Continue through 2032"

[Lenny Siegel <LSiegel@cpeo.org>]

Defense Cleanup: Efforts at Former Military Sites on Vieques and Culebra, Puerto Rico, Are Expected to Continue through 2032

Government Accountability Office
GAO-21-268
March 26, 2021. 

The Department of Defense (DOD) continues to make progress on cleanup efforts at the former military sites in Vieques and Culebra, Puerto Rico, but substantial work remains. The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) estimate that cleanup efforts will continue through fiscal year 2032. The Navy has completed cleanup on nearly all sites contaminated with hazardous materials on Vieques, but substantial work remains for the Navy and the Corps on both islands at sites with munitions, especially underwater sites where unexploded munitions are buried in the sea floor. The costs of prior cleanup, combined with DOD's reported estimates for planned cleanup on both islands, through fiscal year 2032, total nearly $800 million.

DOD faces a number of challenges in its cleanup efforts, according to agency documentation and interviews with Navy, Corps, and other federal officials. Challenges include logistics, the islands' topography and environment, and the safety concerns around handling unexploded munitions. The Navy also faces challenges on Vieques with community distrust of the military handling cleanup efforts. DOD is taking steps to address these challenges, including establishing procedures and protocols, and mechanisms for community input. For example, to address environmental challenges, the agencies established a standard operating procedure to protect endangered and threatened species and their habitats.

The Navy and Corps use a variety of technologies in their cleanup efforts. For example, the agencies use technologies, such as advanced geophysical classification, to detect munitions on land and the towed magnetometer array to detect munitions underwater. The agencies assess the feasibility of innovative cleanup technologies through active participation in DOD environmental research programs and military-specific technology transfer processes.

…

For the the Highlights and a link to the full report, go to
https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-21-268

—

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
A project of the Pacific Studies Center
LSiegel@cpeo.org
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650-961-8918
http://www.cpeo.org
Author: DISTURBING THE WAR: The Inside Story of the Movement to Get Stanford University out of Southeast Asia - 1965–1975 (See http://a3mreunion.org)

_______________________________________________
Military mailing list
Military@lists.cpeo.org
http://lists.cpeo.org/listinfo.cgi/military-cpeo.org