PROGRAM MANAGER
Phone: 858-307-6311
Fax: 858-307-4200

PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The Environmental Restoration (ER) Program is comprised of two components, the Installation Restoration (IR) Program and Munitions Response Program (MRP). 

• The IR Program identifies, investigates, and cleans up or controls Hazardous Substance (HS) releases from past waste disposal operations and spills at Marine Corps installations.  Although the IR Program is intended primarily to clean up past HS releases, it may address the cleanup of past releases of any pollutant and/or contaminant that endangers public health, welfare, or the environment.  
• The MRP investigates and cleans up munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) and munitions constituents (MC) used or released on MCAS Miramar from past operations and activities. MEC includes unexploded ordnance (UXO), discarded military munitions (DMM), and MC that present an explosive hazard.  The MRP generally follows the same procedures and policies as the IR Program with some unique aspects, including the integration of explosives safety requirements.

 

Federal Laws and Regulations

1. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)
   1. CERCLA, also known as “Superfund” was created in 1980 in direct response to Love Canal and other notable hazardous substance release and contamination incidents.  CERCLA directly addresses environmental releases or threatened releases to the air, surface water, groundwater, sediment, and soil.  CERCLA also authorized the creation of a trust fund to be used by the EPA to clean up emergency and long-term hazardous waste (HW) problems. The DoD is not covered by the trust fund; however, Congress set up special funding outside CERCLA, the Defense Environmental Restoration Account (DERA), to pay the cost of DoD responses to HW site remediation. In a memorandum issued on 3 May 1995, the Deputy Secretary of Defense delegated DERA to the military departments and defense agencies. The account that funds Marine Corps requirements is now referred to as the Environmental Restoration, Navy (ER,N) account. The ER,N account is used to execute both the IR Program and the MRP.
2. The Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA)
   1. CERCLA, as originally enacted in 1980, did not include specific provisions for ER at DoD sites.  This changed in 1986 with the passage of SARA, which states that all federal facilities “shall be subject to, and comply with, this act in the manner and to the same extent, both procedurally and substantively, as any non-government entity.”  Additionally, SARA established the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP). 
3. National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP)
   1. The National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) (40 Code of Federal Regulations [CFR] Part 300) is the regulation that implements CERCLA.  The NCP provides the organizational structure and procedures to prepare for and respond to discharges of oil and the release or threatened release of hazardous substances, pollutants, and contaminants.  The NCP also outlines actions to be taken upon discovery of a release and following notification of a release of a hazardous substance in a reportable quantity. 

 

Executive Order Requirements

1. EO 12088
   1. (October 1978), requires each Executive Agency to comply with applicable pollution control standards, including responsibility for all necessary actions for prevention, control, and abatement of environmental pollution with respect to Federal facilities and activities under their respective control. Compliance with applicable pollution control standards means conforming to the same substantive, procedural, and other requirements that apply to private citizens.
2. EO 12580
   1. (January 1987), as amended by EO 12777, delegates Federal agencies as lead CERCLA authority, including DoD. The lead agency authority for DOD has been re-delegated to its individual departments. NAVFAC has been delegated program responsibility to plan and implement response actions at all DON (including Marine Corps) installations.

PROGRAMS

1. The Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) was established by Congress to provide centralized management for the cleanup of Department of Defense (DoD) hazardous waste sites consistent with the provisions of CERCLA as implemented by the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP) of 1982, and amended by SARA of 1986. Executive Order (E.O.) 12580 delegates authority to the DoD to clean up Navy and Marine Corps installations. Two cleanup programs were created under DERP, the Installation Restoration (IR) Program and the Munitions Response Program (MRP). The Environmental Restoration Process provides the framework for cleanup activities on DON installations.
2. The Installation Restoration Program was established in 1984 to identify, assess, characterize, and clean up or control contamination from past hazardous waste sites at US Navy and Marine Corps installations across the country, and is the DoD equivalent to Superfund. The Initial Assessment Study (IAS) conducted in September 1984 at MCAS Miramar originally identified 10 potentially contaminated sites. In February 1984, NAVFAC SW conducted a Site Investigation (SI) of the air station, identifying five additional IR Sites.  Five more IR Sites were subsequently added, resulting in a total of 20 IR Sites. To date 12 IR Sites have been closed or transferred out of the MCAS Miramar IR Program, resulting in 8 active IR Sites.
3. The Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) was established in 2000 to address munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) and munitions constituents (MCs) used or released on sites from past operations and activities. The Munitions Response Program (MRP) is the Navy and Marine Corp's equivalent to the MMRP. As a result of the 2008 Preliminary Assessment (PA) for MCAS Miramar's MRP, 11 sites were recommended for further study, and one was subsequently been added, resulting in a total of 12 sites.  To date, seven sites have been recommended for No Further Action (NFA).  Currently, there are five active Munitions Response Sites (MRS) on MCAS Miramar.

 

PLANS

Community Involvement Plan
MCAS Miramar’s ER Department has developed a Community Involvement Plan (CIP) that specifies the outreach activities that the facility and regulatory officials will use to address community concerns and expectations, as well as provide a framework for ER Program representatives to communicate with interested community members. It is in compliance with federal and state guidelines and requirements, in accordance with the CERCLA, as amended by SARA. This plan specifies the outreach activities that the facility and regulatory officials will use to address community concerns and expectations, as learned from community interviews. Because the plan is a public document that is readily available to the community, it is also something that local residents can use to make sure that base and regulatory officials are responsive. 

RESOURCES

Project Documents
The following recent documents provide information on the cleanup of IR Sites and MRP Sites on MCAS Miramar.  Please click on a link to view the document, or you may visit the Administrative Record (AR or one of the Information Repositories, as described above, to view a hard copy of the document(s).

a.       Recent Documents Available for Public Review

·         2017 CLEANUP UPDATE

         Community Relations Plan for MCAS Miramar Installation Restoration Program

b.      Previous Documents Available for Public Review

·         MCAS Miramar ER Program Community Survey (March 2016)

OTHER RESOURCES

1. MCO 5090.2 (JUN 2018)
2. Navy Environmental Restoration Program Manual (NERP)
3. Community Relations Plan for MCAS Miramar Installation Restoration Program  
4. Environmental Restoration Sites - 2019

RESPONSIBILITIES

In accordance with EO 12580(January 1987), as amended by EO 12777, DON has been delegated program responsibility to plan and implement response actions at DON facilities. At MCAS Miramar, NAVFAC SW has been delegated federal responsibility for cleanup on the installation in conjunction with the ER Program at MCAS Miramar. The California Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB), Region 9 acts as the lead regulatory agency for the IR Program, providing oversight for the IR Program at MCAS Miramar, as well as responsibility for overseeing cleanup of groundwater-related issues. The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is the lead agency, with responsibility for oversight of the cleanup in the MRP at MCAS Miramar.
 

PROGRAM COMMUNICATIONS

a.       ER Program Personnel
MCAS Miramar’s ER Program project team is a division of installation’s Environmental Department, located in Building 6022. Call 858-307-6702 to speak to an ER Program representative if you have questions or concerns regarding environmental cleanup activities.

b.      Administrative Record
The complete Administrative Record (AR) for MCAS Miramar is maintained at NAVFAC SW in San Diego, California. It includes project documents, technical reports, and any other supporting documentation that form the basis for selection of remedial actions under the ER Program. The address for the AR is 1220 Pacific Highway, San Diego, CA 92132. You may contact the AR Administrator at (619) 532-3667 to schedule an appointment to review documents. AR hours are 8:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

c.       Information Repositories
Two Information Repositories have been established for MCAS Miramar’s IR Program to provide the local community with opportunities to review project documents. A copy of the complete AR index and pertinent program-related documents are available for public review at these established resources. The base location is housed in the Environmental Department’s Offices in Building 6022, and the off-site location is at the Mira Mesa Public Library, located at 8405 New Salem Street. Please call the library directly at (858) 538-8165 to confirm current library hours. Environmental Department Office Hours are 7:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. weekdays.

d.      Email Distribution List
An email distribution List has been developed to communicate program achievements and information. If you would like to be added to this email distribution list, please contact the ER Program Manager at 858-307-6702.

e.      Fact Sheets
Fact sheets provide information about the environmental cleanup program, removal actions, and plans for removal of hazardous wastes at cleanup sites on base. These documents will be available on this website and may be emailed to members of the distribution list.

f.        Public Comment Periods
Public comment periods allow members of the community to participate in the environmental cleanup process at MCAS Miramar at critical times in the cleanup process. All public comments received by the Marine Corps will continue to be considered and, as appropriate, incorporated into final documents.
 

IR Sites on MCAS Miramar
Following the Initial Assessment Study conducted in 1984, ten potentially contaminated sites were identified for further study. Since that time, ten additional IR Sites have been added, resulting in a total of 20 IR Sites. There are currently eight active IR Sites on MCAS Miramar.

 

Site Number	Site Name	Current Status
IR Site 1	Fuel Farm Operations Areas	Active
IR Site 2	Rose Canyon	Active
IR Site 3	Fish Pond	Closed
IR Site 4	Fire Fighter Drill Fields	Closed
IR Site 5	San Clemente Canyon Disposal Area	Active
IR Site 6	North Miramar Landfill	Transferred to City of San Diego
IR Site 7	South Miramar Landfill	Transferred to City of San Diego
IR Site 8	Old Camp Elliott Heating Plant	Closed
IR Site 9	Old Camp Elliott Impact Areas	Removed from IRP
IR Site 10	Sycamore Canyon Atlas Missile Facility	Active
IR Site 11	Red Barn Ditch	Closed
IR Site 12	NEX/Gas/Service Station Drainage Ditch	Closed
IR Site 13	AIMD Jet Engine Test Cells Ditch	Closed
IR Site 14	Hangar No. 6 Ditch	Closed
IR Site 15	Supply Drum Storage Area	Closed
IR Site 16	K212 Boiler Plant Mercury Spill	Closed
IR Site 17	B380 Photo Imaging Lab	Closed
IR Site 18	NEX Main Gas Station	Closed
IR Site 19	Former Gun Club	Active
IR Site 20	San Clemente Disposal Area	Active
IR Site 21	Camp Elliott Demolition Contamination in Soil	Active

Nine Munitions Response Sites (MRS) sites have been recommended for further study at MCAS Miramar. To date, five have been closed, resulting in four active MRS on MCAS Miramar. 

Site Number	Site Name	Current Status
MRS 1	Grenade Course	Closed
MRS 2	Shot Gun Range	Closed
MRS 3	Former Skeet Range	Closed
MRS 5	Skeet Range 1980	Active
MRS 6	Pistol Ranges 5-7	Active
MRS 7	Rifle Ranges 2 & 3	Closed
MRS 8	Pistol Range 12	Closed
MRS 9	Pistol Range 13	Closed
MRS 10	Pistol Ranges 9-11	Transferred
MRS 11	Active Pistol Range	Removed
MRS 12	Former Bomb Target Kearney Field	Closed
MRS 13	Former Bore Sight Range	Closed
MRS 14	West of the Reserve Tank Battalion Compound	Removed
MRS 15	Rifle Range 200 Targets	Open

 

As part of our commitment, all projects, planning and POA&Ms are tracked, followed and resolved using the Marine Corps' latest online tracking system.

The MCAS Miramar ER Program Manager, in conjunction with NAVFACSW, manages the environmental cleanup at MCAS Miramar by working closely with Federal and state regulators to ensure compliance with environmental statutes and regulations. RWQCB Region 9 acts as the lead regulatory agency for the IR Program by providing oversight for the environmental program at MCAS Miramar and responsibility for overseeing cleanup of groundwater-related issues. DTSC provides regulatory oversight for the MRP at MCAS Miramar.