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Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton

Environmental Restoration Program Public Website

The current Installation Restoration Program (IRP) sites at Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Pendleton are managed under the Navy’s Environmental Restoration Program (ERP). The overarching goal of the Navy’s ERP is to protect human health and the environment from past hazardous waste practices and releases at Navy and Marine Corps IRP sites. The interactive map below shows which sites are being addressed under the Navy’s ERP. At MCB Camp Pendleton, the ERP is managed by the Naval Facilities Engineering System Command Southwest in San Diego, California. A link to an overview of past and current environmental investigations and cleanup activities completed at each of the open IRP sites can be found by clicking the site name on the map.

Below is a summary of the IRP sites that the Navy has addressed at MCB Camp Pendleton since the IRP’s inception. The sites are listed within their historic operable unit (OU) where applicable.

IRP Site Status
OU 1

4, 4A, 9, and 24

Sites are closed. Contamination, if present, is at levels that allow for unrestricted use (UU)/ unrestricted exposure (UE).

OU 2

2B, 3, 5, 6, 8A, 19, 20, 22, 28, 31, 43, 44, and 45

Sites are closed. Contamination, if present, is at levels that allow for UU/UE.

OU 3

1A, 1B, 1C, 1E, 1F, 1I, 2A, 2C, 2D, 2F, 2G, 10, 16, 17, 18, 27, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, and 42

Sites are closed. contamination, if present, is at levels that allow for UU/UE.

7

Site is open and is being addressed through the IRP at MCB Camp Pendleton.

OU 4

1D, 1E-1, and 30

Sites are closed. Contamination, if present, is at levels that allow for UU/UE.

OU 5

1A-1, 1H, 6A, 62 and 1111

The OU5 Record of Decision was signed on January 30, 2008. Sites are closed. Contamination, if present, is at levels that allow for UU/UE.

21, 33, 1115, 12 Area Site 13, and 22/23 Area Groundwater

Sites are open and are being addressed through the IRP at MCB Camp Pendleton.

Sites Not in an OU

150 and 1117

Sites are closed. Contamination, if present, is at levels that allow for UU/UE.

1114, 1116, 1118, 1119, 1120, 1121, and 1122

Sites are open and are being addressed through the IRP at MCB Camp Pendleton.

A link to an overview of past and current environmental investigations and cleanup activities completed at each open IRP site can be found by clicking the site name on the map.

CLICK HERE for acronym definitions and a glossary of the Navy’s ERP terms.

CLICK HERE for detailed information on the Navy’s ERP.

CLICK HERE for additional site-specific documents for each IRP site in the Navy’s Administrative Record for MCB Camp Pendleton.


Operable Unit 3

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IRP Site 7 – 20 Area Box Canyon Landfill (OU3)

IRP Site 7 consists of an inactive landfill covering approximately 28 acres located near the southwest corner of the base in 20 Area, east of Vandegrift Boulevard and less than a mile northeast of Stuart Mesa Road. The site was used for quarry operations from approximately 1946 to 1970, and for landfill operations from 1974 to 1984. The landfill has been inactive since 1984. Typical wastes accepted for landfilling included household and construction refuse as well as dry-cleaning sludges and contaminated soil and dumpster waste. In addition, between May 1996 and 1999, approximately 271,000 cubic yards of treated (stabilized) and untreated soil from several IRP sites were deposited into a portion of the landfill. After emplacement of the waste and soils in the landfill, the site was covered with clean soil cover and the upper surface was contoured and seeded with native plant species.

IRP Site 7 was included in a 1993 remedial investigation. Low concentrations of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and two other organics were detected in soil. Organics and various metals were also detected in groundwater, although concentrations of all metals, except for barium, were below background levels. Based on the nature of wastes disposed of at the site, the remedial investigation report recommended a remedial action to cap the landfill and long-term monitoring, in accordance with regulatory guidance. An engineering evaluation and cost assessment was prepared to evaluate closure of Site 7 in 1995, followed by an addendum to the document in 1997 to evaluate an additional cap option.

Based on the remedial investigation and these evaluations, the 1999 OU3 Record of Decision stipulated that the remedial action at the landfill would include installation of an evapotranspiration cover consisting of various soil layers and vegetation, installation of lined surface water drainage structures, construction of an access road, and implementation of a post-construction monitoring plan.

Landfill cap grading and drainage optimization activities were performed at IRP Site 7 between 2002 and 2003. Post-construction groundwater monitoring resumed in February 2003, following completion of the cap. Between 2004 and 2008, a landfill gas monitoring network was implemented. A landfill gas mitigation system was installed between 2012 and 2013 to address methane concentrations. Currently, landfill gas is monitored and reported quarterly, groundwater is monitored and reported annually, and settlement monuments are monitored semi-annually. Post-closure maintenance and monitoring of the physical landfill is reported annually. All reports are reviewed by the regulatory agencies. No significant findings have been reported to date.

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Operable Unit 5

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12 Area, Site 13 – Former Buildings 1280 and 1283 (OU5)

12 Area, IRP Site 13 is located at the former location of Buildings 1280 and 1283, in the eastern portion of MCB Camp Pendleton. Former Building 1283 was a mess hall and former Building 1280 was a Quonset hut used for food storage. These buildings were demolished in November 1992, the same year Building 12052 was built on the site. Underground Storage Tank (UST) 13, removed before 1994, was a 1,500-gallon concrete tank associated with Building 1283 used to store diesel fuel for heating.

Previous investigative actions at the site were associated with UST 13 and were conducted under the MCB Camp Pendleton UST Program. A 1994 site assessment required by a Regional Water Quality Control Board cleanup and abatement order addressed subsurface contamination associated with 12 Area UST and pipeline sites. As a result, a soil, groundwater, and phase-separated hydrocarbon contaminant plume was delineated at 12 Area Site 13.

Routine groundwater monitoring commenced in 1995 and continued until 12 Area Site 13 was included in the OU5 2003 remedial investigation. Following a 2005 feasibility study, the Navy continued monitoring groundwater to verify that natural attenuation processes were controlling migration of volatile organic compound contaminants at the site. In 2009, a soil removal action was performed in conjunction with a utility replacement project.

From 2014 to 2015, an air sparge and soil vapor extraction system pilot study was completed to actively reduce contamination in groundwater further. Performance monitoring showed the system to be marginally effective, and its use was discontinued. Following the pilot study, low levels of contaminants in groundwater persisted at the site and an updated risk assessment indicated that total cancer risk exceeded threshold criteria.

In 2019, a zero-valent zinc (ZVZ) pilot study to degrade volatile organic compounds in groundwater was completed. An assessment of the performance monitoring data indicated that the ZVZ injection program has been effective at reducing the concentrations of volatile organic compounds in groundwater. The Navy is currently monitoring the site on a semiannual basis and reporting to the regulatory agencies annually. A record of decision has not been issued for the site yet.

 

IRP Site 21 – 14 Area Surface Impoundment

IRP Site 21 is located at a former fuel dock facility bordered on the north by a pond that was formerly used as an oxidation pond for effluent from Sewage Treatment Plant 1. The former facility included an unlined surface impoundment, three 100,000-gallon concrete diesel fuel underground storage tanks, a septic leach field, and a storage area for solvents and cleaning compounds. The fuel dock was used from the early 1940s until 1993.

By 1994, all buildings and facilities at the site were demolished, and the three 100,000-gallon underground storage tanks (USTs) were removed under the MCB Camp Pendleton UST Program. Approximately 12,500 cubic yards of total petroleum hydrocarbon contaminated soil was excavated from the vicinity of the former underground storage tanks and approximately 17,000 cubic yards of soil was excavated near the former fuel dock building area. An additional 4,990 cubic yards of diesel-contaminated soil was excavated from 1995 to 1996 from surrounding areas as part of the UST remedial action.

In 1996, a series of field investigations into groundwater contamination at IRP Site 21 were initiated. A phase two remedial investigation was conducted in 1998, and additional groundwater sampling and well installation took place from 2001 to 2003 as part of OU5 remedial investigation activities. IRP Site 21 was found to be contaminated with a variety of volatile organic compounds in both shallow and deep groundwater, requiring further remedial action. Surface water at IRP Site 21 showed detections of some volatile organic compounds, but contamination appeared stable.

To address contamination in shallow and deep groundwater, an enhanced in situ bioremediation pilot study was conducted at the site between 2009 to 2011 to remediate chlorinated solvents in the deep zone. The pilot study was successful, and an expanded pilot study was conducted between 2021 and 2013 to confirm results and focus on alternative areas. A feasibility study was completed in 2014.The final 2018 record of decision included the recommended alternative for IRP Site 21, which was supported by risk assessment results from OU5 remedial investigation data. The selected alternative consisted of land use controls and long-term monitoring, and treatment of the shallow and deep zone groundwater.

The remedial action was performed from 2017 to 2019. The 2020 remedial action completion report concluded that contaminant concentrations decreased because of the action, and recommended continued long-term groundwater monitoring at the site until remedial goals were met. Currently, the Navy monitors the site and reports annually to the regulatory agencies.

 

IRP Site 33 – South of 52 Area Armory

IRP Site 33 is in 52 Area in the northwestern portion of MCB Camp Pendleton. It consists of the area south of Building 520452, the 52 Area Armory, where solvents are present in site groundwater, likely originating from a gun clearing area. An underground storage tank (UST) used to store diesel fuel near Building 52652 was removed in 1996.

In 1996, a remedial investigation was completed for IRP Site 33. High concentrations volatile organic compounds were detected in soil and groundwater by the investigation and the site was included in the 1998 OU4 remedial investigation to further evaluate the nature and extent of the contamination. In addition, a 1998 site assessment of a former UST near Building 52641 was conducted as part of the MCB Camp Pendleton UST Program and found petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in the vicinity. Additional soil and groundwater sampling was conducted between 2001 and 2002 as part of OU5 remedial investigation activities.

Following 2006 additional data collection and the 2008 feasibility study report, two removal actions were recommended and conducted at IRP Site 33. The first removal action, completed in 2012, included the excavation of approximately 14,400 cubic yards of contaminated soil and removal and treatment of 572,000 gallons of contaminated water. The second removal action, completed in 2014, included the excavation of approximately 589 cubic yards of contaminated soil to remove a continuing source of tetrachloroethylene contamination in soil vapor and groundwater located under the gun cleaning pad. In addition, two rounds of enhanced in-situ bioremediation injections were conducted in 2014 and 2015 to address remaining areas of tetrachloroethylene in groundwater outside the removal action areas.

The IRP Site 33 Record of Decision was finalized in 2021 and outlines the selected remedy which includes land use controls, long-term groundwater monitoring, and monitored natural attenuation. Currently, the site is monitored semiannually, and reports are submitted annually to the regulatory agencies. Additional spot injection is completed as needed to help degrade the remaining plume.

 

IRP Site 1115 – 13 Area Force Service Support Group Lot

IRP Site 1115 is an approximately 14.5-acre site consisting of an asphalt-paved lot located on the southwest portion of MCB Camp Pendleton within the Mainside Area. The lot formerly consisted of several buildings associated with the 13 Area Motor Pool. Most the buildings had associated underground storage tanks that were used to store diesel heating fuel for boilers, oil, waste oil, solvents, or gasoline. Nine former underground storage tanks (USTs) associated with site activities were designated as Sites 1 through 9, and an accompanying subsurface pipe was designated as Site 17.

Impacts to soil and groundwater at IRP Site 1115 are attributed to the USTs at Sites 1, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, and piping at Site 17 and warranted further investigation. Following a preliminary investigation in 1986, UST program site assessments were completed at the various 13 Area Force Service Support Group Lot sites in 1994. Baseline groundwater monitoring was conducted during the UST site assessment activities, and groundwater investigations were conducted on a quarterly basis from January 1996 till mid-1997, and then semiannually through the end of 2001.

A free product removal system was installed in 1996 and was discontinued when the 13 Area Force Service Support Group Lot sites were transferred to the CERCLA program in 2000. In 2002, the system was restarted as part of a pilot study to assess effectiveness at reducing free product at the site.

A soil investigation was conducted in 2001 and a removal action followed in 2002 at Site 1. Approximately 5,000 cubic yards of soil was removed. IR Site 1115 was officially added to the IRP in 2004 and remedial investigation field activities were performed to address data gaps. The remedial investigation and feasibility study report was completed in 2014 and assessed seven target treatment zones.

Site sampling has shown soil is contaminated with volatile organic compounds and total petroleum hydrocarbons. Soil gas sampling results and modeling indicate that significant concentrations of volatile organic compounds are present in soil vapor throughout IRP Site 1115. In groundwater, volatile organic compounds have been detected across the site.

Since 2014, several pilot studies have been implemented to evaluate treatment in specific target treatment zones at four of the seven target zones to evaluate their effectiveness. All remedy specific remedial technologies were shown to be ineffective because of the presence of low-permeability soils and were not cost effective when compared to the chosen site-wide alternative.

A draft record of decision currently in regulatory review outlines the chosen remedy which includes free product recovery, monitored natural attenuation, and land use controls.

 

22/23 Area Groundwater

The 22 and 23 Areas comprise approximately 425 acres and are in the Santa Margarita River basin near the southern boundary of the base. The term "22/23 Area Groundwater" is used to denote the groundwater underlying the industrial areas containing an airfield, air station complex, warehouses, and various industrial and office buildings. Within the industrialized portion of the 22 and 23 Areas, there are six former IRP sites, which have been previously designated as 4, 4A, 6, 16, 17, and 27. Each of these former IRP sites was addressed in prior operable units (OUs) and phases of work, and there are not believed to be any continuing sources of contamination to the underlying groundwater.

No specific source or release point has been identified to account for the observed chlorinated aliphatic hydrocarbon contamination in groundwater. It is possible that past chronic releases from previously investigated sites could be responsible for the current groundwater contamination. It is also possible that groundwater contamination may have been caused by small, isolated releases to the ground surface in the past.

Investigations of the 22/23 Area Groundwater have been ongoing since the 1990s through investigations and studies of the IRP sites included in the industrial areas. In 2002, the 22/23 Area Groundwater site was moved from OU4 to OU5. Additional data was collected to support remedy selection and included in a 2011 remedial investigation and feasibility study report. Remedial action alternatives were evaluated, and the final 22/23 Area Groundwater Record Of Decision was issued in 2014. The selected remedy combined is land use controls and long-term groundwater monitoring with installation of a new drinking water production well to provide an alternate water supply, and source area treatment via in situ technologies.

Land use controls were implemented to prohibit access or use of the contaminated groundwater and prevent interference with site remediation activities until remediation goals are met. Long-term monitoring of contaminants in groundwater is evaluating progress towards meeting these goals. In addition, an alternative water supply well for use by the base and agriculture was installed in 2017 in an area of uncontaminated groundwater.

Source area treatment of the specific plumes has been ongoing since 2015. Performance monitoring following treatment within the three main plumes tracks the migration or stability of the plumes, the degradation of the contaminants, and provides data to support additional treatment as needed. Currently the site is monitored on a semiannual basis, at a minimum, and is reported on annually to the regulatory agencies.

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Sites Not Included in Operable Units

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IRP Site 1114 – 41 Area Arroyo Site

IRP Site 1114 is located approximately one mile south of Las Flores Creek and one-half mile east of the Pacific Ocean, adjacent to former IRP Site 9, the Former Waste Stabilization Pond in the 41 Area. Following the issuance of an Explanation of Significant Differences, the single monitoring well at former IRP Site 9, where remedial action objectives had not been met was designated as IRP Site 1114.

A preliminary assessment and site inspection were conducted from 2004 through 2009, followed by a remedial investigation in 2011. The investigation found detections of volatile organic compounds and petroleum related volatile organic compounds in soil gas, and high concentrations of the volatile organic compound tetrachlorethylene in groundwater. The source of contamination in groundwater is thought to be from a localized, undocumented surface release.

A removal action was conducted at IRP Site 1114 in 2013 to reduce the tetrachlorethylene concentration groundwater, thereby reducing potential human health risk. Excavation of trenches, for the installation of extraction wells, extraction of impacted groundwater, in situ treatment of groundwater, and off-site disposal of extracted groundwater and excavated soil were completed. Concentrations of tetrachlorethylene have remained stable over seven sampling events but are still above remediation goals.

A record of decision for IRP Site 1114 was published in August 2020 documenting the final remedy for the site, which consists of establishing land use controls to prevent use of contaminated water and implementing a monitored natural attenuation program. The site will continue to be monitored and evaluated through 5-year reviews while contaminant concentrations in groundwater continue to exceed remedial goals.

 

IRP Site 1116 – 14 Area Groundwater

IRP Site 1116 was added to the IRP in 2007 in response to contaminants detected during investigations of nine underground storage tank (UST) subsites in 14 Area. The contaminants of concern at IRP Site 1116 are volatile organic compounds, primarily trichloroethylene, and fuel-related compounds at subsites identified as 1491, 14008, and 14112. The extent of IRP Site 1116 contaminated groundwater plume around subsites 1491 and 14008 stretches from north of Building 14010, south to the surface drainage near the intersection of 15th and E Street and approximating 2,000 feet northeast along the drainage to the northeast side of 16th Street. The extent of IRP Site 1116 contaminated groundwater plume around subsite 14112 is located approximately 1,600 feet northwest of Site 1116, along the east side of Vandegrift Boulevard north of 17th Street.

A site inspection was completed in 2010 and six of the nine subsites were found to not warrant further action under the IRP. In 2014, an IRP site investigation was conducted to characterize the extent of volatile organic compounds in groundwater at UST subsites 14112, 1491, and 140008. A 2014 removal action addressed volatile organic compounds and fuel-related compounds in soil and groundwater at these three subsites to reduce potential risks to human health and the environment.

A site inspection was initiated in 2014 to delineate the extent of volatile organic compounds in groundwater and trends in trichloroethylene concentrations at the three IRP Site 1116 subsites following the removal actions. Performance monitoring followed removal action activities in 2014 and 2015 and an additional investigation was conducted in 2016 and 2017 to optimize treatment choices for the site. The Navy added indoor air monitoring at barracks near the plume to determine if there was a risk to residents. No volatile organic compounds were detected in indoor air.

A 2018 action memorandum was approved outlining a removal action for groundwater at IRP Site 1116 to protect residents from any potential contamination. The action, implemented from 2018 into 2020, includes enhanced in situ bioremediation to treat the groundwater contaminant plume by substrate injections, groundwater sampling, indoor air sampling, and additional monitoring well installation. This action and prior removal actions have included the excavation and disposal of contaminated soil and the injection of over 85,000 gallons of substrate into 183 groundwater injection wells located along the length of the volatile organic compound contaminant plume.

During the removal action, the groundwater plume was traced upgradient to an outside storage area located immediately north of Building 1132, a maintenance garage in 11 Area that currently used by the U.S. Marine Corps in support of grounds maintenance. An IRP site inspection was completed in February 2020 around Building 1132 to evaluate soil contamination and determine if the area could potentially be a continuing source of contamination to groundwater and vapor intrusion into the building. No threat to groundwater or indoor air was found at Building 1132.

A proposed plan for Site 1116 was prepared outlining the Navy’s preferred remedial alternatives of monitored natural attenuation with long-term groundwater monitoring, land use controls, and groundwater treatment via enhanced in situ bioremediation as needed. A record of decision is currently under development. In the interim, the Navy continues to monitor groundwater and indoor air on a semiannual basis, reporting to the regulatory agencies annually.

 

IRP Site 1118 – 21/26 Area Groundwater

IRP Site 1118 includes subsites 21565, 2664, and 520400. The subsites were former underground storage tank sites previously classified and investigated as petroleum sites that are in 21 Area, 26 Area, and 52 Area, respectively. Elevated concentrations of chlorinated, non-petroleum-related volatile organic compounds have also been reported historically in groundwater at these sites. As a result, IRP Site 1118 was established in 2007 under the CERCLA process to further investigate these organic compounds.

Subsite 2664 was part of an underground storage tank (UST) program investigation in the 1990s. Volatile organic compounds were reported at relatively low concentrations throughout the site. A 2010 site inspection and a 2013 extended site inspection were conducted. Risk assessment results for soil, soil gas, and groundwater supported a no further action recommendation for Subsite 2664, and the site was closed.

Subsite 21565 consisted of one 1,500-gallon reinforced concrete tank with a direct fill pipe and 56 feet of product and return piping that were removed in 1997. A 1998 UST program site assessment was completed at Subsite 21565 and diesel was detected in soil and groundwater. In 2004 and 2005, 85 tons of soil were removed prior to the construction of Building 210568 on the site of former Building 21565. Diesel was still present in groundwater but below project screening level but multiple volatile organic compound detections above their project screening levels in soil, soil vapor, and groundwater were reported in a 2014 extended site inspection report.

Additional investigation was performed at Subsite 21565 in 2017 to refine the nature and extent of potential contamination, and a data gap study was published in May 2019. A soil removal action and additional investigation was recommended. Two pilot studies were completed in 2017 and 2018. A soil vapor extraction system removed approximately 2 kilograms of trichloroethylene from the subsurface, and chemical amendments were injected in three areas during two events. A 2019 work plan for the collection of additional subsurface data and to delineate contamination and prepare a remedial investigation and feasibility study report has been finalized in advance of the planned fieldwork.

Subsite 520400 consisted of a former gas station in operation from 1965 to 1994 that contained two 10,000-gallon tanks with piping. The subsite was characterized under the UST program in 1998 and 2000. Approximately 563 cubic yards of soil impacted with fuel-related volatile organic compounds were removed from the source zone and disposed of off-site. Monitoring wells were installed, natural attenuation was selected as the remedy, and the site was closed under the underground storage tank program in 2005. Various volatile organic compounds including non-fuel related constituents were later detected in groundwater, resulting in the site’s transfer to the CERCLA program as part of IRP Site 1118 in 2007. A 2010 site inspection and a 2013 extended site inspection detected various non-fuel related volatile organic compounds above project screening levels in groundwater and soil gas as well as fuel-related volatile organic compounds in soil gas.

Additional investigation was performed at Subsite 520400 in 2017 to refine the nature and extent of potential contamination, and a data gap study was published in May 2019. A vapor intrusion/indoor air risk evaluation was completed in 2021 and concluded that site contaminant did not pose a risk to building occupants. Both Subsite 520400 and 21565 are currently being evaluated in the remedial investigation report/feasibility study.

 

IRP Site 1119 – 26 Area Groundwater

IRP Site 1119 was created to investigate the source or sources of chlorinated solvents in the 26 Area. It is defined as a plume of the volatile organic compound trichloroethylene in groundwater approximately 30 acres in areal extent, located near the southern boundary of the base, north of Vandegrift Boulevard. Facilities within this area of the base include various industrial operations, office buildings, and undeveloped land. Trichloroethylene was discovered at two of the wells that were scheduled to be production wells and further investigation was needed to delineate the extent of contamination and to locate the source.

No previous investigations or remedial actions were documented at this site before a 2014 remedial investigation report and feasibility study summarizing investigations conducted between 2008 and 2013. A 2016 design study, which incorporated sampling of 36 wells within the sub-basin, helped define the nature and extent of the IR Site 1119 plume to an area near Buildings 2611 and 2622.

The record of decision for IRP Site 1119 was published in 2015, and the selected remedy includes land use controls and long-term monitoring, in situ enhanced bioremediation, and installation and operation of a reactive barrier designed to destroy contaminants in groundwater. The permeable reactive barrier was completed and documented in a January 2020 completion report, and implementation of the remainder of the remedy is underway. The site is monitored and reported on annually to the regulatory agencies.

 

IRP Site 1120 – Stuart Mesa Pesticide Maintenance Areas

IRP Site 1120 was created in 2012 to address contamination caused by unauthorized releases from agricultural maintenance activities. The site consists of fifteen subsites located within the 664 acres of property known as the Stuart Mesa Agricultural Fields, which was leased for row crop farming from the 1940s to 2011. Twelve were identified as areas of concern during 2011 environmental assessment activities at the site in support of real estate agreement closure, and three were later added because of a 2012 risk assessment.

The former lessee at IR Site 1120 completed a removal action in 2012 that included excavations at six locations within four subsites. Approximately 941 tons of soil with elevated potential contaminant of concern concentrations of pesticides, herbicides, and petroleum hydrocarbons were removed from targeted source areas based on analytical results from the 2011 environmental assessment activities. Confirmation soil sampling was performed at the excavation areas as part of the remedial investigation fieldwork performed in 2014 and 2015. Results showed that impacted soil at five of six locations remained at concentrations above cleanup goals.

The remedial investigation identified soil as the only media with unacceptable risk due to contaminants of concern. Contamination in soil was most likely due to unauthorized releases of pesticides, herbicides, and petroleum hydrocarbons to the surface soil via leaks and spills during chemical storage and mixing; equipment and vehicle washing, maintenance, and storage; fuel storage and filling; and produce processing.

The remedial investigation report and feasibility study finalized in 2020 supported the finding that exposure to contaminated soil was a potential threat to human health and ecological receptors. A 2019 removal action was conducted to address pesticides, herbicides, and petroleum contamination in soil at each of the subsites. Following excavation of the planned areas, confirmation sampling continues to indicate exceedances of the remedial goals.

The Navy is currently in discussions with the agencies and installation on how to address the heterogeneity of the site. Concurrently, the Navy is investigating the impacts on sediment in Cockleburr Creek from stormwater runoff from the Maintenance Facility Compound on the eastern side of IRP Site 1120. The investigation concluded that runoff did not adversely affect sediment or downstream ecological receptors and was concurred with by the regulatory agencies.

 

IRP Site 1121 – IRP Site 1D Groundwater

IRP Site 1121 was created in 2012 to address groundwater beneath former IRP Site 1D. The site consists of a groundwater plume with elevated concentrations of volatile organic compounds, metals, and pesticides in the 20 Area, at the intersection of Vandegrift Boulevard and Stuart Mesa Road.

A remedial action was conducted in 2007 and 2008 to remove contaminated soils from former IRP Site 1D. Following the remedial action, groundwater was found to be impacted, and IRP Site 1121 was created to investigate the groundwater contamination.

A data gap analysis investigation was performed in 2012 to delineate the nature and extent of volatile organic compounds, pesticides, and arsenic in groundwater at IRP Site 1121 because of a release from former leaking drums unearthed during the 2008 remedial action. Following the data gap analysis investigation, a remedial investigation was conducted.

Soil vapor results indicated that the trichloroethylene concentration in deep soil vapor was consistently higher than in shallow soil vapor. The current soil vapor data indicates a potential risk to future potential indoor air receptors. A variety of volatile organic compounds and arsenic and aluminum were detected in groundwater and exceeded their respective maximum contaminant level, although most of the contaminants were at concentrations below regulatory criteria.

The remedial investigation was completed in 2017 and an initial pilot study was completed from 2019 to 2021. The pilot study evaluated if enhanced in situ bioremediation (EISB) and in situ chemical reduction (ISCR) were effective alternatives for site remediation. The report concluded that additional EISB/ISCR injections be conducted to continue reducing volatile organic compound (VOC) concentrations in groundwater and VOC volatilization from groundwater into soil gas. In addition, the initial pilot study recommended a follow on pilot study to evaluate soil vapor extraction technology in reducing VOC concentrations in soil vapor and groundwater and a bench scale arsenic treatability study to evaluate potential remedial alternatives to address high concentrations of arsenic in groundwater. The follow on pilot study is currently underway.

 

IRP Site 1122 – San Clemente Skeet Range

IR Site 1122 is the former Elks Lodge Skeet Range located on the northern border of MCB Camp Pendleton bordering the City of San Clemente. The former range had two shooting stations located in the City of San Clemente. The direction of fire was to the east onto land leased by the Base to the State of California Department of Parks and Recreation. The range, which was in operation until 2010, was never used or operated by the Marine Corps.

The shotfall zone associated with the skeet range is in a small east-west oriented valley that contains a non-perennial stream running to the east through MCB Camp Pendleton property towards the San Mateo Creek valley. The terrain is heavily vegetated with steep to moderate slopes along each side of the valley.

An initial site assessment was completed in 2012, and included a limited number of soil, sediment, and surface water samples. A formal site assessment was conducted at the site in 2014 to further characterize the nature and extent of contamination. The site was split into four areas of concern (AOC) described as the clay target fall zone, the shotfall zone, the concentrated shotfall zone, and the non-perennial stream.

Currently, the Navy is performing the fieldwork for the remedial investigation. The primary intent of this remedial investigation is to further define nature and extent of the chemicals of potential concern at each AOC and evaluate risk to potential human and ecological receptors.

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