DERP-FUDS Culebra Island Puerto Rico

June 2021

FACT SHEET

DERP-FUDS Culebra, Puerto Rico
Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP)
Congressional District: Puerto Rico

1. DESCRIPTION

Program and projects are appropriated under Environmental Restoration – Formerly Used Defense Sites (ER-FUDS). The Culebra property was approved for inclusion in the Defense Environmental Restoration Program by an Inventory Project Report (INPR) and Findings and Determination of Eligibility (FDE) dated May 1991. In July 2005, the INPR was revised to clarify further the military’s use of Culebra and divided it into 14 separate project sites: one (1) Installation Restoration Program (IRP) site and 13 sites were approved under the Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP). Culebra is located about 17 miles east of the main island of Puerto Rico. The Culebra property, consisting of Culebra Island and surrounding cayos, was acquired via land transfers, purchases, donations and leases, and was utilized as a coaling and communications station, for aerial bombing, maneuvers, naval gun, artillery firing, and amphibious training by the U.S. Marine Corps and the U.S. Navy during various periods between 1903 and 1975. All lands were transferred from Navy control prior to 1986 except for 68.83 acres near Flamenco Point. Based on historical research and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Site Inspection, the Culebra property has been prioritized for Remedial Investigation for munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) and munitions debris (MD), with the exception of the area on Culebra Island designated as the Northwest Peninsula (NWP). Per Public Law (PL) 93-166, the NWP cannot be remediated using federal funding; however, that was modified by Fiscal Year (FY) 15 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) language (PL 113-291). Section 317 of PL 113-291 states the Secretary of the Army may expend funds to decontaminate certain public use areas within the NWP of unexploded ordnance (UXO). The specific areas authorized within the NWP are portions of Carlos Rosario Beach, Flamenco Beach, Tamarindo Beach, the campground, and Carlos Rosario Trail, and a MMRP project was approved in June 2016 to include these areas. The intent is to ensure UXO are removed from these areas, thereby allowing their safe use for their current recreational purposes. This authorization does not specify cleanup of other environmental contaminants, including munitions constituents. The remaining acreage of that portion of the NWP controlled by the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico remains the responsibility of the Commonwealth to restrict access and/or provide remediation. The Culebra property also has one area that is being investigated for possible hazardous materials under the IRP.

2. FUNDING

3. STATUS

1. The MMRP Site Inspection was completed in 2007 on areas not within the NWP footprint. The MMRP Site Inspection recommended twelve of thirteen munitions response sites (MRSs) to proceed to the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) phase; 10 sites are on land with 6 having a water component, and 2 sites are totally within the water. The RIs’ fieldwork efforts at the ten land sites are complete. The Corps’ contractors are drafting the RI/FS reports and expected to be completed in FY22-23. Contracts have been awarded for RI/FSs in the water areas and USACE is currently working with Commonwealth and Federal regulatory and resource agencies to implement these actions. Each underwater remedial investigation is being conducted in three phases. The first phase, which has been completed for each underwater MRS, is an Environmental Baseline Survey to identify the bathymetric, plant (i.e. seagrass) and coral features of each area to be investigated. Particular emphasis was placed on identifying Endangered Species Act-listed species and their supporting habitats.  The second phase is an electro-magnetic (geophysical) survey to identify possible munitions items or debris that might be present. The third phase is the intrusive investigation of items identified during the second phase and it consists of excavating and/or disposing of any munitions items, subject to listed species considerations. Due to impacts from hurricanes Irma and María, the water area RIs’ fieldwork efforts were delayed and were completed for 4 sites in FY20. The fieldwork for the remaining 2 sites is scheduled for completion in FY21. Current status for the various projects are shown in the table below:

2. A Congressionally mandated study specified by Public Law 111-383, Section 2815, was completed in April 2012 relating to that portion of the former bombardment area on the Culebra NWP that was transferred to the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico by quitclaim deed. This portion, consisting of some 408 acres, is part of the area for which expenditure of federal funds for ordnance remediation is prohibited by Public Law 93-166. The study findings included an estimate of some $49M for removal of ordnance from the 408-acre tract, in addition to addressing the potential impacts to the public and the environment. This estimate to remediate the entire Commonwealth of Puerto Rico portion of the NWP is not included in the estimated total Cost-to-Complete number in funding section above, since it is not authorized.

3. An Abbreviated Preliminary Assessment/Inventory Project Report (APA/INPR) to delineate and determine site boundaries of the NWP areas authorized by Section 317 of PL 113-291 was completed in June 2016. As a result, MMRP Project 16 was created to address the UXO hazards remaining in the authorized NWP areas.

4. In June 2016, USACE awarded contracts to conduct Time Critical Removal Actions (TCRAs) at NWP areas authorized by Section 317 of PL 113-291 discussed in Description section above, as well as Cayo Botella and Cayo del Agua. The fieldwork activities at the NWP areas were initiated in November 2016 and completed in March 2018.  USACE completed the final report on the removal action conducted in the NWP in November 2019. After completion of the TCRA fieldwork activities, the Executive Director of the Authority for the Conservation and Development of Culebra (ACDEC) informed USACE’s Project Manager for Culebra that ACDEC was planning the renovation of Flamenco Beach and Flamenco Campground areas. This renovation required the demolition of existing structures and the construction of new structures in areas where UXO removal activities were not conducted during the TCRA because the ground beneath the structures was inaccessible. ACDEC and the municipality of Culebra requested USACE remove munitions that may be present under the current structures. USACE awarded a new contract in FY20 to address the work identified by ACDEC. USACE initiated the additional TCRA fieldwork in July 2020 and completed in October 2020.  USACE anticipates the completion of the final report addendum in September 2021.  The fieldwork at Cayo Botella was completed in February 2019, and the final report completed in FY20; the fieldwork at Cayo del Agua was completed in October 2019 with a final report scheduled in mid FY21.