DERP-FUDS Opa Locka Airport - Amelia Earhart Park

June 2021

FACT SHEET

DERP-FUDS Opa Locka Airport - Amelia Earhart Park
Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP)
Congressional District: 24

1. DESCRIPTION

Programs and projects are appropriated under Environmental Restoration – Formerly Used Defense Sites (ER-FUDS). The Opa Locka Airport DERP-FUDS property was located in the city of Opa-Locka, Florida, on 3,944.64 acres formerly used as a U.S. Navy Air Station and Blimp Base. The Amelia Earhart Park project site is located within that DERP-FUDS property and was approved for inclusion in the DERP-FUDS Program in June 2004. Contaminated soil and groundwater were discovered during construction of a sewer system at the Amelia Earhart Park. The contaminated area is located within the boundaries of a suspected former Department of Defense (DoD) burial area. Investigations have included soil and groundwater sampling, a ground penetrating radar survey which indicated the existence of buried objects along the remaining route of the sewer pipeline, and a series of excavation efforts to remove the detected buried debris. Sampling results indicate that the most widespread, often elevated contaminant at the site is arsenic.

2. FUNDING

Estimated Total Cost $4,259,600
Estimated Total Cost to Complete $0
Allocation thru FY20 $4,142,300
Allocation for FY21 $40,100

 

3. STATUS

The Remedial Investigation completed in 2012 found no unacceptable risk in the soil and shallow groundwater, but the extent of deeper groundwater contamination was not fully delineated. Additional deep groundwater assessment was initiated for the suspected former DoD Burial Area. During the assessment the Corps reviewed historical documentation including aerial imagery and concluded that use of the land and widespread modification of the site after it was transferred to Miami-Dade County may have introduced contamination of non-DoD origin and/or spread contamination present at the site, thus making the site ineligible as a DERP-FUDS IRP project. Ongoing activities include closing or transferring ownership of monitoring wells, coordinating with regulatory authorities, and documenting site close out.

 

DERP FUDS Opa Locka Amelia Earhart Park Map