SPRINGFIELD, Mass., Sept. 1, 2010 - The safety and security of the local citizenry was the top priority for a team of environmental experts from the 99th Regional Support Command and other military and civilian organizations that conducted a digital geophysical survey at the Arthur MacArthur Army Reserve Center (ARC) earlier this week.
The multi-day survey was the direct result of a 60 mm mortar round that was found in October 2006 buried in an undeveloped two-acre wooded area located on the ARC's five-acre property, whose fence line is shared by several private residences.
"The mortar round was found while digging during a training exercise," explained Laura Dell'Olio, a contractor working as the installation restoration program coordinator for the Army Reserve's 99th Regional Support Command (RSC), the organization that currently owns the MacArthur ARC and its land. The 99th RSC's mission is to provide administrate, logistical, facilities management and other base-operations support to all Army Reserve Soldiers, units and properties in the northeast region of the United States. More than 46,000 Soldiers, 400 Headquarters and 300 facilities are located in the 99ths 13-state area of responsibility that stretches from Maine to Virginia.
The mortar was collected by the Springfield Bomb Disposal Unit and an explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team from nearby Westover Air Reserve Base, and ultimately brought to Fort Devens for controlled detonation.
"After it was found, this became an off-limits zone," Dell'Olio said of the wooded site that had previously been used for limited military training by the units who called the MacArthur ARC home.
The area remained off limits to Soldiers and civilians alike as funding was sought to perform a survey to search for additional munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) that might be buried on the site. While waiting for money to become available, the Army Reserve consolidated three of its Regional Readiness Commands - including the one that previously owned the MacArthur ARC - into a single entity, the 99th Regional Support Command. This transformation further delayed the survey.
Once funding for the survey became available earlier this year, Dell'Olio and her colleagues at the Army Environmental Command and Army Corps of Engineers, along with civilian contractors from Stell Environmental Enterprises and HydroGeoLogic, Inc., put their survey plan into motion.
"The main concern here is the (MEC)," said Dell'Olio. "We're using state-of-the-art equipment and proven methods that should identify any issues out there."
The survey team is using magnetometers, which are basically high-tech metal detectors, to create a digital picture of the surveyed area that will show magnetic anomalies up to several feet underground. These anomalies can then be analyzed, and potential buried MEC can be identified.
"(The magnetometer) will map anything in the upper crust (of the earth's surface)," explained John Dickerson, senior geophysicist with HydroGeoLogic. Inc. "Our survey will identify individual anomalies - little single, discrete things anywhere from the surface down to three or four feet depending on how large they are."
Once the survey is complete, data is analyzed and targeted anomalies are identified, an explosives safety plan will be submitted to the Department of Defense Explosives Safety Board for review. Once the plan is approved, excavation of potential MEC can begin, most likely in spring 2011.
Besides making the area safe for local residents, Dell'Olio explained that the MacArthur ARC property has been slated for disposal by the Army Reserve per the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) commission. The planned reuse of the building is by the Town of Springfield as administrative space for its police department, but this transfer cannot happen until the land is cleared by the survey team.
"In order for the Army to transfer property, we're required to do an Environmental Condition of Property report," Dell'Olio explained. "It identifies any environmental issues we're required by law to present to the new owner. Right now, it's in an un-transferable state"
"The goal is to allay any concerns of the adjacent property owners, and also the future owners of this property, that the area has been thoroughly surveyed," added Darlene Stringos-Walker, project manager with Stell Environmental Enterprises. "We will have a very high confidence level when this (survey) is done."
Because civilian homes are located adjacent to the area to be excavated, special Department of Defense-approved safety measures must be taken during that phase of the operation. Each anomaly to be excavated will be shrouded by a Miniature Open-Front Barricade (MOFB), a four-foot-high, reinforced-aluminum canopy that can absorb the blast and shrapnel from a small MEC, thus protecting the homeowners and their property.
"It gives you a lot of control over investigating a buried ordnance item," explained Ronald Mendenhall Jr., unexploded ordnance safety manager with HydroGeoLogic, Inc.
Local residents will be notified of the specifics concerning the next phase of work in early spring prior to the excavation, Dell'Olio said.
While there is still much work to do at the site, Dell'Olio remains focused on the end result of making sure this land is safe for future use, and that the MacArthur ARC continues to be a facility where those in uniform - whether it be Army greens or Police blues - can work and train to serve in harm's way for the citizens of Springfield.
"(This site) will be cleared for the new property owners, for their safety and the residents' safety," she said.
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