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Expanded Site Inspection
North Landing River Target (UXO-01)
Currituck County, North Carolina
Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, Virginia
The Navy, in cooperation with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ), will conduct environmental restoration activities on the North Landing River in Currituck County, North Carolina.
The North Landing River Target (Site UXO 01) is an “other than operational” water range associated with Naval Air Station (NAS) Oceana. Located approximately 25 miles south of Virginia Beach on the North Landing River, the area served as a practice dive-bombing range for NAS Oceana from the mid-1950s through the mid-1960s. Miniature smoke-producing practice bombs were reportedly used. They were not designed to detonate and create fragmentation.
Beginning the week of September 21, 2026, the Navy will continue an Expanded Site Inspection to locate, identify, recover, and safely destroy live munitions, should any be found remaining from these activities approximately 60 years ago. During field operations, the portion of the North Landing River near Gibbs Point and Troublesome Point will be temporarily closed as a safety precaution to protect anyone near the work zone. This work is expected to take approximately 2 to 3 weeks to complete.
Work will occur on weekdays, during daylight hours, and will proceed as weather and river conditions allow. Boaters, fishermen, and anyone near this area may see dive boats or floating work platforms, Navy-contracted divers or personnel, clearly marked safety zones, and patrol boats; they may also see and hear possible controlled detonations.
Through the Navy’s ongoing Military Munitions Response Program, previous investigations have included a Preliminary Assessment (2009) and Site Inspection (2010). The results showed no pattern of metallic objects that would typically indicate a practice bombing target; however, subsequent research uncovered two news articles from the 1940s reporting the target was in the area between Gibbs Point and Troublesome Point. The Expanded Site Inspection began in 2024 and included geophysical surveys of 797 water acres. These surveys identified metallic objects and wooden poles protruding from the water – features consistent with a former practice bombing target – in a cove between Troublesome Point and Gibbs Point.
A Fact Sheet on this investigation, as well as other information on the North Landing River Target Site, can be found HERE.
If you have any questions, please contact the Public Affairs Officers for NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic or NAS Oceana: NAVFAC_ML_PAO_ALL@us.navy.mil or oceanapao@navy.mil.
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Community Outreach
A community outreach program for the Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) at NAS Oceana, NALF Fentress, and Dam Neck Annex has been established through development and implementation of a Community Involvement Plan (CIP) for each installation. The CIPs were developed to comply with USEPA, Department of Defense, and Navy requirements and incorporated input from the public, through surveys, on how the public would like to be involved in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) process. The plans are updated every 5 years or if significant community concerns or a major change in the ERP at NAS Oceana, NALF Fentress, and Dam Neck Annex occurs. The current CIPs were finalized in FY 2020. The NAS Oceana, NALF Fentress, and Dam Neck Annex community outreach program includes public notices, public meetings, an information repository, fact sheets, and this website. Click on a link below for the current CIP:
Public Notices
Public notices are issued to announce public meetings, the dates of public comment periods for Engineering Evaluation and Cost Estimates and Proposed Plans, signature of Records of Decisions, and changes to the Munitions Response Site Prioritization Protocol. The notices are published in The Virginian-Pilot and on this website.
Public Comment Periods and Meetings
Proposed Plans and Engineering Evaluations and Cost Analyses are made available for public comment. A public meeting is held for each Proposed Plan issued by the Navy, and by request for Engineering Evaluations and Cost Analyses. During the meeting, Navy officials will discuss the findings of the Remedial Investigation, the various cleanup alternatives, the Navy’s preferred cleanup alternative, and the rationale for the preferred cleanup alternative. Meeting attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and make comments at the meeting. The public may also submit written comments during the public comment period. A Responsiveness Summary will be prepared for significant comments received and made available in the information repository. Notices announcing the public comment periods will be published in the legal section of The Virginian-Pilot and on this web site. The documents will be made available for review in the information repository and on this web site.
Information Repository
An information repository consisting of a reference collection of general and NAS Oceana/Dam Neck Annex/NALF Fentress ERP site information, including documents for public review, the CIP, and fact sheets.
The information repository for NAS Oceana/Dam Neck Annex is maintained at:
Meyera E. Oberndorf Central Library
4100 Virginia Beach Boulevard
Virginia Beach, Virginia 23452
(757) 385-0150
The information repository for NALF Fentress is maintained at:
Chesapeake Central Library
298 Cedar Road
Chesapeake, VA 23322
(757) 410-7100
Fact Sheets
Fact sheets are issued to provide stakeholders with current, accurate, easy to understand information about the Navy’s environmental investigations and munitions response activities at NAS Oceana/Dam Neck Annex/NALF Fentress. The fact sheets are issued as needed through the course of activities, such as after completion of a Remedial Design and prior to initiation of a Remedial Action. Click on a link below for the current fact sheet: