buxton beach issues

Since September 1, 2023 an area of the beach in Buxton has been closed due to public health concerns. Testing done as a result of visible debris and the strong smell of fuel yielded results of petroleum hydrocarbons at levels greater than 65 times the actionable level. These contaminants and their threat to public and environmental health are the direct results of years of inaction and failure to complete contractual requirements by the US Army Corp of Engineers. The residents and visitors of Buxton, NC are demanding immediate action to remediate this situation and restore the beach in its entirety. 

The area of concern was used by the US Navy from 1956-1982 under what is known as a Special Use Permit (SUP). The terms of this SUP dictated that the area be restored to its original condition after use. In 1982, the Navy relinquished use of the property and the United States Coast Guard (USCG) adopted the area as Coast Guard Station Group Cape Hatteras. However, the USCG did not assume ownership or responsibility of several buildings and grounds, including those which are responsible for the current issues. The area falls into the category of a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) – a designation that deems the US Army Corp of Engineers responsible for cleanup and restoration.

In a communication dated January 2005, the US Army Corp of Engineers acknowledges its responsibility of this FUDS – as well as admitting that it failed to completely restore it as mandated by the Special Use Permit. They state; “Area I was not excavated to the full extent as presented in the Workplan due to the presence of underground concrete slabs and critical utilities”.

 The US Army Corp of Engineers is now attempting to negate any responsibility for the debris and contaminants that have resulted in the closure of this area of beach in Buxton. Rather, they are suggesting that the issues have arisen due to erosion and other natural causes. The fact is, however, that erosion or forces of nature would have had neither anything to uncover nor contaminants to spread had the US Army Corp of Engineers not willfully and grossly failed to meet the requirements of the SUP and FUDS terms and completely restored the site when the first outlined their plans to do so. 

  There have many failures and intentional misdirection and misleading at multiple levels since 1998 when the area was declared a FUDS. However, the recent closure of the beach to the public, the visible and dangerous debris, and the strong odor of petroleum and sheen on the ocean have forced this community to take action. Several other entities including the National Park Service, United States Coast Guard, and the Southern Environmental Law Center have all endorsed the notion that this is a public health and environmental emergency, and the US Army Corp of Engineers is directly responsible for resolving the problem they created. The residents and visitors of this federally protected National Park cannot afford to wait out the red tape, bureaucracy, blame-shifting, stalling, and denial tactics that the US Army Corp of Engineers have employed thus far. The time to act is now.