POQUOSON -- The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is gearing up to chart and gather unexploded ordnance and other items on Plum Tree Island National Wildlife Refuge.
The Corps briefed Poquoson City Council Monday afternoon about work set to begin later this month that will end in March. Crews will collect and test soil, sediment and water samples from the southern part of the refuge, which was originally an aerial bombing and gunnery practice range from 1917 through the late 1950s.
The primary focus of Phase II is to characterize the nature and extent of Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) and Munitions Constituents, or MC, at the refuge, said Project Manager George Follett
Phase I work, which occurred at the same time last year, ended with two detonations.
"Work consisted of a 123-acre shoreline surface sweep from the top of the sand dune to the low tide line," Alex Smith of Shaw Environmental said in December.
About 263 jet-assisted takeoff rockets were recovered, along with bomb and rocket fragments. The only items found during the surface sweep that contained energetic material were six JATO rockets. These were disposed of by detonation, Smith added.
Eight tons of munitions debris, mostly empty JATO rocket bodies, was demilitarized on site, certified as hazard-free and taken to nearby Messick Point for temporary storage for later disposal. Some WWI-era ordinance also was found and was detonated with the help of experts from Langley Air Force Base.
Plum Tree Island Bombing Range covered about 3,200 acres.
It was transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in 1972 and remains closed to the public because of the ongoing work.
