MANTEO, N.C. — Dare County leaders say they’re frustrated about an apparent stalemate when it comes to addressing concerns about contamination and debris from an abandoned military base along the Cape Hatteras National Seashore in Buxton.
“It’s a bouncing ball back and forth and this is affecting our economy,” said Bob Woodard, chair of the Dare County Board of Commissioners.
Woodard invited Cape Hatteras National Seashore Superintendent Dave Hallac to the board’s April meeting on Tuesday.
Hallac gave a similar presentation to one provided to the public in Buxton last week. The presentation provided a lot of background on the situation at the site but little resolution.
“I’m not aware of a plan, as of today, to remediate this problem,” Hallac said. "All I can tell you is I’m continuing to work hard on advocating for that."
As News 3 first reported earlier this year, a small section of the Buxton Beach access remains closed because of concerns about a petroleum smell and debris from a base once used by the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard.
Hallac said officials from the National Park Service, the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have been in constant communication.
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One obstacle to a solution appears to be a lack of an exact source of the contamination.
An Army Corps report issued last week points to at least one obstacle to a solution. It found the source of the contamination remains unknown, so it’s still unclear whether the site qualifies for the Formerly Used Defense Site Program or FUDS, which could fund the clean-up of the site.
“The limiting factor we’ve run into is program policy specifically states, hazards that arise after a property is transferred out of DoD control are not FUDS eligible,” said Sara Keisler, USACE, Savannah District, FUDS Program Manager in a statement. “But, if the source of the recently reported petroleum contamination is the result of DoD activities prior to Oct.17, 1986, then the FUDS Program can be used to clean up the area.”
Woodard was among the leaders who traveled to Washington, D.C. last week to push for a solution. He was joined by Commission Vice Chairman Wally Overman, Dare County Commissioner Danny Couch, and Dare County Manager/Attorney Bobby Outten.
Woodard said he wasn’t blaming the Park Service, but rather other agencies for the slow progress of cleanup.
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“We’re not getting any results from them at all; that’s why we were up there lobbying our U.S. Senators for some help,” he said. “They promised they had some contacts … in the Army Corps and environmental agencies as well. We’ll give up them a week or so, and we’ll follow up with them to see what kind of progress they’ve made.”
Despite the concerns in Buxton, Woodard remains assured the rest of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore remains safe for visitors.
“We’re hearing from people who are looking to come down and we’re trying to encourage them to continue to come down, because we got 75 miles of beach, and we’re only talking about a two-tenths of a mile section,” he said.
He also plans to ask Gov. Roy Cooper’s office to also push the federal government for a solution.
