EPA RCRA ID: VA1210000906
On this page:
- Cleanup Status
- Facility Description
- Contaminants at this Facility
- Institutional/Engineer Controls
- Enforcement and Compliance
- Related Information
- Contacts for this Facility
Cleanup Status
Note: The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) is the lead agency for managing cleanups at this facility.
In September 2005, EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order under Section 3013 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to Fort Belvoir to investigate contamination at the North Area (NA) of the Army Facility. A total of 44 solid waste management units (SWMUs) and 21 areas of concern (AOC) were identified. Almost all of the identified units have been addressed, either by completing remediation of contamination, or requiring no further action, or are beginning the remedial phase.
In 2012, the Fairfax County Parkway was completed, built on 170 acres of Fort Belvoir’s North Area (NA) (previously known as the Engineer Proving Ground (EPG)). The solid waste management units (SWMUs) 26 and 27 and the Former Aboveground Test Tank Site (FATTS) were located in the Parkway Right of Way (ROW). Fort Belvoir completed the environmental investigations and remediation of these Units prior to Parkway construction. In 2004, ordnance and explosives were cleared from the ROW and included mine fuses, mortars and scrap metal. The primary contaminants of concern were petroleum hydrocarbons from product releases. Institutional controls and groundwater monitoring are part of the ROW long term remedy.
Ft. Belvoir has completed environmental investigations for most of the SWMUs and Areas of Concern (AOC) identified under RCRA Corrective Action as directed under EPA's RCRA Section 3013 Unilateral Administrative Order (UAO) issued in 2005. The UAO Corrective Action investigations were completed in 2016 and the Order was closed out by EPA in 2017. The few remaining Units requiring remedy clean-up actions are moving forward under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) process with Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (VDEQ) oversight.
Cleanup Actions or environmental indicators characterizing the entire facility are shown below. It is not intended as an extensive list of milestones/activities. This listing, and all the data on this page, come from EPA’s RCRAInfo and are refreshed nightly to this page. For this table and the Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility table that follows, a blank in the Status column could mean the action either has not occurred or has not been reported in RCRAInfo.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to the Entire Facility
| Action | Status | Date of Action |
|---|---|---|
| Human Exposure Under Control Human Exposure Under Control(CA725) | ||
| Groundwater Migration Under ControlGroundwater Migration Under Control (CA750) | ||
| Remedy DecisionRemedy Decision (CA400) | ||
| Remedy ConstructionRemedy Construction (CA550) | ||
| Ready for Anticipated Use Ready for Anticipated Use (CA800) | ||
| Performance Standards AttainedPerformance Standards Attained (CA900) | ||
| Corrective Action Process TerminatedCorrective Action Process Terminated (CA999) |
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Cleanup Activities Pertaining to a Portion of the Facility
| Action | Area Name | Date of Action |
|---|
For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Facility Description
Link to a larger, interactive view of the map.
The Engineer Proving Ground (EPG), now known as the North Area (NA) is part of the U.S. Army Garrison at Fort Belvoir, located in Fairfax County, Virginia, 14 miles south of Washington, DC. The NA is a 804-acre tract located 1.5 miles from the Installation's Main Post. The NA is bounded on the east by Interstate 95. Commercial and residential properties surround the NA to the north, west and south. The U.S. Army acquired the EPG in the early 1940’s for use as a testing and engineer training site. The testing and training included land mine deployment, detection and neutralization training.
Contaminants at this Facility
Contaminants identified in soil and groundwater include petroleum hydrocarbons, Royal Demolition Explosive (RDX), RDX break-down chemicals, metals and tetrachloroethylene.
Institutional and Engineering Controls at this Facility
The Installation's Master Plan contains the Land Use Controls used to notify, manage and protect areas where remnants of contamination remain.
Institutional and Engineering Controls help ensure human exposure and groundwater migration are under control at a cleanup facility. Where control types have been reported by states and EPA in EPA’s RCRAInfo, they are shown below. Not all control types are needed at all facilities, and some facilities do not require any controls. Where there are blanks, the control types may not be needed, may not be in place, or may not be reported in RCRAInfo.
Are Controls in Place at this Facility?
|
Control(s) Type |
Control(s) in Place? |
Areas Subject to Control(s) |
Documents available on-line: |
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|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Institutional ControlsNon-engineering controls used to restrict land use or land access in order to protect people and the environment from exposure to hazardous substances remaining in the site/or facility. (CA 772) |
Informational DevicesInformational Devices (ID) |
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Governmental Controls (GC) |
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Enforcement and Permit Tools (EP) |
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| Proprietary ControlsProprietary Controls (PR) | ||||
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Engineering ControlsEngineering measures designed to minimize the potential for human exposure to contamination by either limiting direct contact with contaminated areas or controlling migration of contaminants. (CA 770) |
Groundwater ControlGroundwater Control (GW) |
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Non-Groundwater |
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For definitions of the terms used, hover over or click on the term.
Enforcement and Compliance at this Facility
EPA’s Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance (OECA) provides detailed historical information about enforcement and compliance activities at each RCRA Corrective Action Site in their Enforcement and Compliance Historical Online (ECHO) system.
RCRA Enforcement and Compliance Reports from ECHO
Related Information
For more information about this facility, see these other EPA links:
- RCRA information in EPA’s Envirofacts database
- Information about this facility submitted to EPA under different environmental programs as reported in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Alternative Names for this facility as reported by EPA programs in EPA’s Facility Registry Services
- Cleanups in My Community provides an interactive map to see EPA cleanups in context with additional data, and lists for downloading data
- Search RCRA Corrective Action Sites provides a search feature for Corrective Action Sites
Documents, Photos and Graphics
Contacts for this Facility
EPA Region implements and enforces the RCRA Corrective Action program for and federally recognized tribes.
For further information on this corrective action site, use the Contact Information for Corrective Action Hazardous Waste Clean Ups listings that are accessible through Corrective Action Programs around the Nation.