Description: Fort Hancock consisted of 1,691.63 acres fee and 1.14 acres easement on Sandy Hook, New Jersey. The site is in Congressional District NJ-6, and is situated about 10 miles south of the entrance to New York Harbor. Fort Hancock was acquired by the U.S. between 1806 and 1909 by various deeds and other instruments. It was used for a variety of purposes, including the Nation's first proving ground, a fort, firing range, anti-aircraft defense, and training. During the 1950s, a Nike battery installation was built. In 1974, the fort was deactivated, and in 1978, 1623.85 acres fee and 1.14 acres easement were transferred to the Department of the Interior. The remaining 67.78 acres fee was transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Department of the Interior – National Park Service and the U.S. Coast Guard are the present owners. Fort Hancock is currently part of the Gateway National Recreation Area operated by the National Park Service.
Authorizations: The Fort Hancock site is being investigated under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program for Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS). The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act or 1986 authorized that program. The Department of Defense Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) addresses the potential explosives safety, health and environmental issues caused by past munitions-related activities at current and former military installations. MMRP funding for former military installations is provided under the FUDS program.
Status (As of August 2015)
The Corps is performing an MMRP remedial investigation at the former Fort Hancock site. The Site Specific Work Plan for the Fort Hancock site was developed and a Technical Project Planning (TPP) meeting was held with interested stakeholders. The scope of the investigation was presented in a public information meeting held on January 6, 2011. Field work began the following week, and continued through March 25, 2011; further work during this phase of effort was suspended because of the presence of nesting shore birds. The field investigation work resumed in October 2011 and was completed in December 2011; a total of nine munitions items were found, but only two of the items discovered contained minor amounts of residual explosive material. Those items were properly removed and disposed of. Several areas were identified which contained metal munitions-related scrap material determined as safe. A remedial investigation report was prepared and distributed to stakeholders in March 2014. Additional remedial investigation work was conducted to test soils in an area designated as “B003” in the northern sector of the Sandy Hook peninsula; no unacceptable risk for human health or the environment was evidenced for metals concentrations in soils. A report regarding this work is being finalized as an addendum to previous investigation, and will be released in the near future. One additional area will be investigated in the Fall of 2015, and a report of findings will be prepared and released as the second addendum to the original investigation in 2016. Upon the conclusion of this investigation and preparation of an alternatives analysis in a Feasibility Study, the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers will release a Proposed Plan for public comment and a public meeting will be held to solicit public comment on the Proposed Plan (2017 timeframe).
Project Cost
Estimated Federal Cost [MMRP Remedial Investigation] $2,400,000
Contact
Gregory J. Goepfert, New York District Project Manager
917-790-8235
Gregory.J.Goepfert@usace.army.mil