USAE delivers comprehensive munitions response, geophysical services, and community education/public involvement services to ensure safe and effective results. Our work at Camp Van Dorn (CVD), a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) located in Mississippi, demonstrates our expertise in compliance with environmental regulations while evaluating and mitigating potential hazards associated with Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) and Munitions Constituents (MC), facilitating community meetings to keep residents and stakeholders apprised of progress, and the use of innovative technologies to support safety and quality.

This large-scale Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS) was performed to determine the nature and extent of contamination and required two field seasons to complete. The project encompassed 27,878 acres of the overall 41,544-acre FUDS property. CVD was a former infantry training camp and included the use of bayonets, mines, booby traps, bazookas, grenades, rifles, machine guns, and field artillery. The overall goal was to obtain stakeholder acceptance of a Decision Document for each Munitions Response Site (MRS).

The entire site was heavily forested and privately owned, with areas accessible to the public. Community meetings were an essential part of the project to address and alleviate landowner concerns about property access. Ultimately, the meetings helped increase Rights of Entry (ROEs) through the cooperation of previously hesitant landowners. Of the 1,623 total parcels, approximately 380 landowners accepted and granted access.

USAE conducted a thorough site investigation, employing Digital Geophysical Mapping (DGM) technology and handheld analog instruments, which identified subsurface anomalies indicative of MEC and characterized the density of those anomalies along transects in the investigation areas. More than 198 miles of transects were mapped, followed by density analysis to delineate High Density Areas (HDAs), where strategically placed grids were surveyed, and selected anomalies were intrusively investigated to further define the extent of contamination. USAE utilized Visual Sample Planning (VSP) to optimize DGM transect coverage and spacing within each area, ensuring comprehensive data collection. The team safely investigated 25,452 anomalies and identified 2,715 munition debris items.

To capture aerial footage and still images of team dispersion in the heavily forested areas ahead of mobilizing for vegetation clearance and MEC investigation, USAE used robotically controlled Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), or drones, enhancing operational efficiency.

USAE delivered high-quality results, meeting all regulatory and contractual requirements while maintaining excellent communication with the client and other stakeholders. The team worked a total of 43,578 labor hours on this project with no safety incidents or lost workdays.

The RI included the East and West Impact Areas, five Investigation Areas, and two grenade courts, totaling 11 Investigation Areas. USAE successfully completed the RI of the 11 Investigation Areas, for which USAE worked closely with USACE to delineate the site into seven MRSs. Five of the MRSs proceeded to an FS for evaluation of alternatives. A combined FS report was drafted for submission.

The team's proactive approach and problem-solving capabilities were recognized through positive ratings, including the comment: “Contractor has achieved above average accuracy in DGM collection and data production.”

The success of the Camp Van Dorn project reinforces USAE's position as a trusted partner in complex MMRP efforts, ensuring both regulatory compliance and public safety.