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The Department of the Navy (Navy) invites you to attend an open house to be held August 21, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Fallbrook Community Center Live Oak Room, in Fallbrook, California, to review and provide comments regarding the Proposed Plan for Munitions Response Program (MRP) Site UXO2 located at Naval Weapons Station Seal Beach, Detachment Fallbrook, in Fallbrook, California. MRP Site UXO2 is located approximately 2,600 feet south-southwest of the Ammunition Road entrance to Detachment Fallbrook, and approximately 600 feet inside the eastern boundary of the installation. MRP Site UXO2 consists of two former ranges: a Former Small Arms Range and a Former Skeet/Trap Range. The Former Small Arms Range covers approximately 0.5 acre and is located within the Former Skeet/Trap Range, which covers approximately 31 acres.
The Former Small Arms Range operated from 1945 to 1991 for handgun marksmanship training. Ammunition used at the Former Small Arms Range included .38 caliber, .45 caliber, and 9 millimeter rounds. The firing line was located at the north-northeastern end of the range, and the firing direction was to the southwest, towards wooden target structures. A hillside located behind the target structures served as the target berm where bullets and bullet fragments generally landed. Bullets and bullet fragments are the primary source of soil contamination at the Small Arms Range.
The Former Skeet/Trap Range operated from 1950 to 1987 and was used for recreation. Ammunition use at the Former Skeet/Trap Range was limited to 12 gauge shotgun ammunition. The firing line and the skeet/trap launching equipment were located on a shelf at the top of the hillside, east of the Former Small Arms Range target berm. The firing direction was to the north (opposite of the firing direction for the Former Small Arms Range). The lead shotfall and broken pieces of skeet/trap targets are the primary sources of potential contamination at the Former Skeet/Trap Range.
Multiple site investigations have been completed to evaluate potential threats to human health and the environment at MRP Site UXO2. Soil samples were collected from the surface and shallow subsurface throughout the footprint of the Former Small Arms Range and Former Skeet/Trap Range. Sediment samples were also collected within Fallbrook Creek. A metal-detector survey was conducted within the Former Small Arms Range target berm to detect metallic items (bullets and bullet fragments). The results of the site investigations indicate that lead, bullets, and bullet fragments are present within and near the Former Small Arms Range Target Berm and pose unacceptable risk to human health and/or ecological receptors. The other portions of the Former Small Arms Range and the Former Skeet/Trap Range, including Fallbrook Creek, have not been impacted by historical operations and activities at MRP Site UXO2. Based on these findings, the Navy determined that action is needed to address unacceptable risks to human health and/or the environment at MRP Site UXO2.
The Navy evaluated the following four options for addressing soil contamination at the site: 1) No Action (required for comparison), 2) Soil Cover, Engineering Controls, and Institutional Controls, 3) Limited Excavation and Institutional Controls, and 4) Excavation and Offsite Disposal. The preferred alternative is Excavation and Offsite Disposal (this is the highest level of cleanup among the alternatives; identified as Alternative 4 in the Proposed Plan). In summary, this alternative consists of the excavation and offsite disposal of soil in areas that pose a risk to industrial and constructions workers, future hypothetical residents, and ecological receptors. Additionally, this alternative includes removal (to the extent practical) and offsite disposal of bullets and bullet fragments. This alternative would remove all soil that poses unacceptable risk to human health or the environment. Therefore, this alternative is expected to allow for unrestricted use at MRP Site UXO2 (pending concurrence from regulatory agencies). No continued monitoring, maintenance, or controls would be required after implementation.
The public is encouraged to review and comment on the Proposed Plan documenting the Navy’s preferred remedial alternative for MRP Site UXO2.
Click here to download the Proposed Plan for MRP Site UXO2
The Navy will accept public comments during the 30-day comment period held from Thursday, August 7, 2025, through Saturday, September 6, 2025. Written comments should be postmarked no later than Saturday, September 6, 2025, and mailed to:
Mr. Anthony Konzen
Lead Remedial Project Manager
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southwest,
750 Pacific Highway, 11th Floor,
San Diego, California 92132
Emailed comments may be submitted to navfac_sw_det_fallbrook_rpm@us.navy.mil by Saturday, September 6, 2025.
OPEN HOUSE PUBLIC MEETING TO BE HELD ON Thursday, August 21, 2025, from 6:00 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at:
Fallbrook Community Center, Live Oak Room
341 Heald Lane
Fallbrook, California 92028
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