Iona Island Naval Ammunition Depot

The former Iona Island Naval Ammunition Depot, which includes Iona Island and Round Island, is located in the town of Stony Point, in Rockland County, New York (Congressional District 17). The property is owned by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, and is managed by Bear Mountain State Park.

The former Iona Island Naval Ammunition Depot was operated from 1940 to 1947. Depot activities included preparing, assembling, maintaining, inspecting, testing, and issuing ammunition. In 1903, an explosion occurred between Shell Houses 3 and 4 (former Buildings Nos. 210 and 209, respectively) on Iona Island. Blast debris is suspected to have flown as far as 1,250 feet from the center of the explosion.

Munitions associated with the 1903 Explosion munition response sites (MRS) are rockets, small to large caliber munitions, pyrotechnics, and small arms ammunition.

During field activities forming the basis of the 2008 Site Inspection (SI) Report, neither munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) nor munitions debris (MD) was found at the MRS. However, during site visits for the 1997 Archives Search Report (ASR) and the 2004 ASR Supplement, MD was identified, including grenade, fragments from a rocket, small arms ammunition cartridge cases, a small to large caliber munitions cartridge case, and pyrotechnics.

The 2008 SI Report also notes that MEC may have been buried at the MRS as well as accidently dropped into the Hudson River during a loading operation at three of the site’s loading docks. Finally, results of surface soil and sediment sampling indicate that munitions constituents (MC) exceed human health and ecological screening values.

Further investigation will be conducted, subject to availability of funds.          

The US Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) is conducting work at the site under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program for Formerly Used Defense Sites (DERP-FUDS).

To read a fact sheet on the project Click Here.

 If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Gregory Goepfert, Project Manager,  at (917) 790-8235.