FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Ms. Kelly Burdick
301-757-6909 FAX 301-342-7509
[email protected]

NAVAIR ACHIEVES NAVY FIRST
PROPERTY DECLARED READY FOR REUSE BY EPA AND STATE OF TEXAS

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality formally presented a Ready for Reuse Determination to the Naval Air System Command for the successful environmental remediation of the former Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant at a ceremony in McGregor, Texas on October 30.

This RfR determination marks the culmination of several U.S. Navy precedents:

? The first Navy facility to receive an EPA Ready for Reuse Determination;
? The first Navy and State of Texas Post Closure Order;
? The first Navy non-BRAC Operating Properly and Successfully Determination; and
? The first – and world’s largest – full-scale biowall application for groundwater remediation of perchlorate and volatile organic compounds.

NAVAIR’s Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant McGregor is the very first U.S. Navy facility to receive an RfR determination, which verifies that environmental conditions at the property are protective of human health and the environment for its current and future commercial, industrial and agricultural uses.

Although this facility was closed in 1995, NAVAIR began environmental remedial efforts in 1992, as the 9700-acre property was contaminated by a half-century’s worth of mission-related by-products, including perchlorate. The NWIRP mission focused on the research, testing and manufacturing of solid propellant rocket motors used in missiles such as the Shrike, Sparrow, Phoenix and Sidewinder. Prior to Navy ownership in 1966, the NWIRP property had been used for similar missions since 1942 by the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force.

Working with the Naval Facilities Engineering Command Southeast and the Naval Surface Weapons Center Indian Head Division, NAVAIR implemented an aggressive and innovative remediation plan to address perchlorate, volatile organic compounds and energetics, as well as allow the City of McGregor to economically develop parcels of the property as they were cleaned up.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Environment) Donald Schregardus signed the RfR Certificate and accepted the determination on behalf of the Navy. “The McGregor remediation and redevelopment project is a powerful demonstration of the Navy’s commitment to ensuring a safe environment for future generations,” said Schregardus. “It’s a proud day for the Navy, knowing our partners, the City of McGregor and community, will benefit greatly from this successful collaboration.”

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