May 2023
FACT SHEET
DERP-FUDS Former Naval Air Station Banana River Off-Base Disposal Area
Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP)
Congressional District: 8
1. DESCRIPTION
The former Naval Air Station Banana River (NASBR), located in Brevard County, Florida, served as a secondary field to Naval Air Station Jacksonville until its deactivation on 1 August 1947 when the Navy declared it surplus. The Navy conducted solid waste disposal operations off base from 1942 through 1947, not based on ownership or lease of the property, but rather a verbal agreement and a written letter from the representative of the landowner, records of which were discovered at the National Archives in 2019. Naval operations at the Off-Base Disposal Area (OBDA) ended when the Navy completed restoration activities by February 1948. The Navy transferred the NASBR to the Air Force in September 1948, which reactivated the installation as the Joint Long-Range Proving Ground. The Air Force renamed it Patrick Air Force Base in 1950. The OBDA property remained undeveloped until homebuilders purchased the land and began constructing single-family residences in 1956 for the planned South Patrick Shores community. Homebuilders completed redevelopment of the OBDA property by 1961. In 1991, residents’ health concerns led state and federal agencies to investigate the OBDA. Those studies determined there was no apparent public health hazard, and no action was warranted. Based on not finding any records of Navy ownership or lease of the property at that time, it was also determined not eligible for the Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) program. Health concerns lingered in the community over the years and in 2018 buried debris found in residential yards led to requests for reinvestigation of the area. Records found during the Preliminary Assessment, completed in April 2020, indicated Navy use of the property. A new FUDS project to investigate the 52-acre OBDA was approved on July 25, 2020.
2. FUNDING
| Estimated Total Cost |
$7,425,000 |
| Estimated Total Cost to Complete |
$572,5900 |
| Allocation thru FY22 |
$6,2453,300 |
| Allocation for FY23 |
$398,800 |
3. STATUS
A contract to conduct a Remedial Investigation / Feasibility Study (RI/FS) to determine nature and extent of potential Navy-related environmental contamination at the ODBA was awarded during the 2nd Quarter of FY21. The investigation will use a phased approach consisting of a geophysical survey, test pits, and environmental sampling. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with concurrence from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection, started the first phase of the Remedial Investigation fieldwork, geophysical investigation using ground penetrating radar, in February 2023. Regulatory review of the complete Uniform Federal Policy – Quality Assurance Project Plan or “work plan” for future fieldwork phases is ongoing and will be completed in FY23. USACE continues to seek additional Right-of-Entry agreements from property owners within the OBDA. After completion of the fieldwork, a Remedial Investigation report, Feasibility Study (if necessary), Proposed Plan, and Record of Decision will be prepared. The RI/FS phase is scheduled for completion in FY26.
