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Further cleanup of unexploded munitions will probably be wanted to make Camp Bonneville secure for public entry as envisioned when the U.S. Military transferred the previous coaching grounds to Clark County greater than a decade in the past, in accordance with a draft county report despatched to the state Division of Ecology.
The county employed PBS Engineering, based mostly in Portland, to supply the report as a part of the county and state’s required periodic overview of cleanup efforts on the 3,840-acre property.
In September, the state auditor’s workplace discovered that Ecology and the county had not been finishing the periodic critiques, that are imagined to be executed each 5 years.
“Further clearance (to depths of greater than 14 inches) may be appropriate in areas that are planned for future public use. Additional methods for clearance should be undertaken for certain areas of the park where intensive use will occur, such as campgrounds, picnic areas, recreation areas and playgrounds,” the report states.
Camp Bonneville was established in 1909 as a drill subject and rifle vary for troops stationed at Fort Vancouver. Varied branches of the navy used the coaching camp for 85 years.
Because it closed in 1995, the main focus has been on clearing the world of unexploded ordnance, explosive compounds, munitions fragments and lead, in addition to eradicating soil and groundwater contaminants.
When possession of Camp Bonneville was transferred to the county in 2011, it was contingent on the Military’s settlement to supply funding to assist the environmental cleanup required to revive the land for secure civilian use.
The cleanup was divided into 5 areas referred to as Remedial Motion Items, or RAUs. They embody former firing ranges, munitions disposal areas, a landfill and a sewage lagoon, along with the sitewide elimination of unexploded munitions and groundwater contamination.
In an October presentation to the county council, Kevin Tyler, supervisor for the county’s parks and lands division, stated 4 of the 5 areas have been cleared, with solely the groundwater contamination remaining to be addressed, which might take a number of years. Final month, the Military gave the county one other $6 million to help with that effort.
Residents residing close to Camp Bonneville have lengthy disputed the efficacy of the cleanup efforts and whether or not the property ought to ever be made out there to the general public. The residents additionally argue permitting regulation enforcement businesses to make use of the taking pictures vary and detonate explosives on the location solely provides extra contamination to the property and delays the cleanup.
The county council has directed employees to finish using explosives by the Portland-area metro bomb squad. Throughout the county council’s Wednesday assembly, Chair Sue Marshall confirmed that the bomb squad is now not utilizing explosives at Camp Bonneville. It was unclear if that order has been given to all regulation enforcement businesses utilizing the location.
“Was it the intention to assure the public that all agencies will stop using explosives, or just this single entity? It’s an important distinction, since more than the metro bomb squad are using explosives, and all uses of explosives were ended by the Army in 1995,” Camp Bonneville neighbor Patty Reynolds instructed the council Wednesday.
Reynolds was considered one of a number of individuals who attended the council assembly in hopes of addressing points associated to Camp Bonneville.
“There seems to be a basic misunderstanding over what is a natural conservation conveyance,” stated Jim Byrne from the Pals of Clark County. “How is the firing range, deployment of chemical agents, and storage and detonation of explosives compatible with the restrictions outlined in the U.S. code for conservation conveyance? How are they compatible with the conservation of natural resources?”
In response to the Camp Bonneville Reuse Plan, one-third of the property is meant to be used as a regional park. The remaining two-thirds, which embody practically 500 acres completely fenced off as a result of hazard from unexploded munitions, is reserved for open area and wildlife preservation.
“We are concerned about the apparent conflict with use restrictions. We are worried that these activities will continue to contaminate the property, and we believe that the community has legitimate concerns regarding wildfire, groundwater contamination and lack of public engagement,” Byrne instructed the council. “Camp Bonneville is a beautiful wild place that has experienced much abuse in its history, and it was provided to the county with the intent of remediation and the purpose of natural resource conservation.”
Cleanup of unexploded munitions wasn’t the one difficulty recognized in PBS Engineering’s report. It additionally recognized issues with a former lagoon.
“During the inspection completed for this review, the lagoon was breached and water flowed from the lagoon to the nearby surface road,” the report states.
PBS really useful putting in a cap or one thing much like include the contaminated soil, take away ponding and restore the breach within the former lagoon.
The report additionally discovered breaches in fencing across the property, primarily attributable to downed bushes, that want restore. Moreover, the report recommends including warning indicators alongside roads and trails, firing ranges, and across the central impression space fence.
Tyler stated Wednesday that the fencing repairs have been an ongoing difficulty however have been a precedence.
As a part of the periodic overview course of, the state Division of Ecology is anticipated to carry a public assembly to permit overview and touch upon all associated info, together with the PBS Engineering report. Nevertheless, the date and time for that assembly has not been scheduled.
Public Works employees and Deputy County Supervisor Amber Emery declined to remark or reply to questions for this story, as an alternative pointing to the work session and Camp Bonneville webpage.
