Welcome to the Allegany Ballistics
Laboratory
Installation Restoration Program
This web site is part of the Navy's active efforts to provide accurate, timely and comprehensive information on the environmental IR program currently in action at
Allegany Ballistics Laboratory.
BACKGROUND
Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL) was constructed in 1942 for the Army and
used as a loading plant for machine gun ammunition. The Navy took ownership of
the facility in 1945. Since 1943, ABL has been used primarily for the research,
development, production, and testing of solid propellants and motors for
ammunition, rockets, and armaments. Currently, the facility is operated as a
highly automated production facility for tactical propulsion systems and
composite and metal structures.
ABL is located in Mineral County in the northeastern part of West Virginia,
approximately 10 miles southwest of Cumberland, Maryland along the West Virginia
and Maryland border. ABL consists of about 1,634 acres of land and is divided
into two distinct operating plants. Plant 1 occupies about 1,577 acres and is
owned by the Navy and leased to its operator, ATK Tactical Systems Company LLC.
Approximately 400 acres of Plant 1 (the majority of the developed portion of ABL)
is in the floodplain of the North Branch Potomac River. Plant 2, which occupies
the remaining 57 acres, is both owned and operated by ATK.
ENVIRONMENTAL INVESTIGATION
The Plant 1 portion of ABL was added to the
National Priorities List (NPL) on
May 31, 1994. The NPL is the
Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) list of the high-priority
hazardous waste sites. The responsibility for funding and carrying out
environmental restoration at ABL rests with the Navy. The Navy is completing
these activities in coordination with EPA Region III and
West Virginia Department
of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), under a
Federal Facilities Agreement (FFA)
which was finalized in January 1998.
The environmental condition of ABL is being investigated through the Navy’s
Installation Restoration Program (IRP). The IRP is being conducted in
accordance with
The Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) as amended
by the
Superfund Amendments and
Reauthorization Act (SARA) and other applicable federal and state
environmental regulations and requirements. Eight IRP sites are identified in
the FFA for further investigation, these include Sites 1, 2, 3, 4B, 5, 7, 10,
and 11. Five additional sites have been identified at ABL but are not included
in the FFA, these include Sites 4A, 6, 8, 9, and 12. Several
Solid Waste Management Units
(SWMUs) and
Areas of Concern (AOCs)
at ABL are also identified in the FFA. These sites, SWMUs, and AOCs are in
various stages of the CERCLA process, from investigation through final closeout.
