National Priorities List and Federal Facility Agreement

In 2005, at the request of the Governor of Puerto Rico, EPA placed the former Navy facilities on Vieques on the National Priorities List (NPL or "Superfund").

In 2007, a Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) was developed and signed by the Navy, EPA, Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board, and U.S. Department of Interior (the parent agency of USFWS). The purpose of the FFA is to:

• Ensure that environmental sites are thoroughly investigated and that the proper remedial actions are taken as necessary to protect the public and the environment.
• Establish the framework and schedule to develop, implement, and monitor appropriate response actions, according to Federal and Commonwealth law and regulations.
• Facilitate cooperation, exchange of information, and participation among the signing parties.

For more information about the FFA for Vieques, please visit the EPA website.

The areas being investigated under the FFA are shown on this map. Click on the map to pop up a larger version.

The Navy is conducting Environmental Restoration activities on Vieques Island under the CERCLA or “Superfund” process. Oversight is provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Puerto Rico Environmental Quality Board (EQB), and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS).

The Navy began identifying environmental sites on the former Navy properties on Vieques in the late 1980s. Based on interviews with current and retired station personnel, historic records, aerial photographs and field inspections, preliminary studies identified 66 known or potential environmental contamination sites: 16 sites on western Vieques and 50 on eastern Vieques.

Sites in the Vieques Environmental Restoration program are referred to as either:

• Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU), a site where wastes are known to have been disposed of, or
• Area of Concern (AOC), a site where wastes are suspected on the basis of past use or reported spills.

Potential sites are identified by reviewing historical aerial photos and facility records. These potential sites are referred to as either:

• Preliminary Areas of Concern (PAOC), or
• Photo-Identified areas (PI)

These potential sites may or may not become sites in the Environmental Restoration program, based on further investigation. As of June 2010, 11 PIs and 16 PAOCs are included in the Environmental Restoration program.

In addition to environmental sites, there are 20 potential sites with Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) on the former range on east Vieques and one former munitions disposal site on west Vieques, which are being investigated and cleaned up under the Munitions Response Program. After the munitions removal is completed, the munitions response sites also will be investigated to find out if environmental contamination is present and, if so, if cleanup action is needed.

Environmental Restoration Progress (as of August 2010)

In 2007, this report was further revised to include data from a soil inorganics background investigation report and a field investigation of 8 PIs and PAOCs (PIs 4 and 7, PAOCs J, K, L, N, S, and U) on east Vieques. The Final PA/SI Report was submitted in June 2008.

The remaining 12 sites (AOC E, I, J, R; SWMU 4, 6, 7 on west Vieques; and SWMU 1, PI 4, PI 7, PAOC Q, and PAOC R on east Vieques) are still within some phase of the CERCLA investigation or remediation process.

The Navy removed old wastes, debris, and metal scrap from four sites on west Vieques, to eliminate the possibility that people or wildlife could be exposed to the waste or associated contaminants:

• SWMU 6 – Mangrove Disposal Site at Kiani Lagoon
• SWMU 7 – Quebrada Disposal Site
• AOC J – Former Operations/Staging Area Disposal Site
• AOC R – Former Staging and Operations Area

An Engineering Evaluation/Cost Assessment (EE/CA) was released for public comments in December 2005-January 2006. After EPA, EQB and USFWS approved the Removal Action Work Plan in February 2008, the removal action took place.

No Further Action (NFA)

West Vieques NFA Sites

On February 28, 2007, EQB concurred with the No Further Action recommendation submitted by the Navy for nine sites on western Vieques. The concurrence followed submittal of the Final No Further Action Report for Nine Sites, Former Naval Ammunition Support Detachment, Vieques Island, Puerto Rico and was based on EQB’s consideration of both the report and the comments received during a public hearing held by EQB in Vieques in January 2004.

The No Further Action (NFA) recommendation was based on several data sources including: review of historical aerial photos, interviews with former employees, review of archived records, and site inspections. Samples were collected at the sites and analyzed for inorganics (metals), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOCs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and pesticides. Finally, a quantitative human health risk assessment and a qualitative ecological survey were completed for each site. The human health risk assessment concluded the sites pose little or no risk to human health.  A similar conclusion was drawn based on the ecological survey.

In September 2007, the Navy and EPA, in consultation with EQB and the Municipality of Vieques, agreed that no further action was needed at another site (AOC H) on western Vieques and that no restrictions on future land use are necessary. The No Action recommendation was based on the Remedial Investigation (RI) report for the site. A Proposed Plan was released for public review. A public meeting was held on February 7, 2008. Other than those addressed at the public meeting, no other public comments were received during the 45-day comment period. A Record of Decision was issued September 2008 to document the decision.

The 10 sites approved for no further action, all located on land that is administered by the Municipality of Vieques in western Vieques, are:

• SWMU 05 – Former Inhibited Red Fuming Nitric Acid/Mixed Amine Fuels (IRFNA/MAF) Disposal Site
• SWMU 10 – Former Waste Paint and Solvents Disposal Ground
• SWMU 14 – Former Wash Rack
• SWMU 15 – Former Waste Transportation Vehicle Parking Area
• AOC B – Former Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP)
• AOC C – Drainage Ditch at Former Transportation Shop
• AOC F – Former UIC Septic Tank
• AOC H – Former Power Plant
• AOC K – Former Water Well
• AOC L – Abandoned Septic Tank

The No Further Action decisions for these sites do not include or affect actions at other cleanup sites on Vieques.

East Vieques NFA sites

The Preliminary Assessment/Site Inspection (PA/SI) Report (June 2008) presents the data that were collected and evaluated for 12 SWMUs/AOCs and 8 PIs/PAOCs on East Vieques.  The Site Inspection/Expanded Site Inspection (SI/ESI) Report (August 2010) presents the data that were collected and evaluated for the remaining PI/PAOC sites, as well as several of the sites investigated during the PA/SI.  Based on the information in the reports, the following sites on east Vieques were closed out of the CERCLA process with no action being warranted:

Environmental sites:

• SWMU 5 – Spent Battery Accumulation Area
• SWMU 8 – Waste Oil Accumulation Area
• SWMU 12 – Solid Waste Collection Unit Area (formerly AOC B)
• AOC F – Rock Quarry

Photo-Identified areas:

• PI-11 – Pump house used for the former wastewater treatment system and/or salt water supply system
• PI-20 – Area used as observation point during landing exercises  

Preliminary Areas of Concern: