BUXTON — A section of Cape Hatteras National Seashore beach in Buxton is in its second month of closure due to potential hazards including petroleum-contaminated sand, and it is unclear when the area may reopen.
Visitor reports of “a strong fuel smell” and the uncovering of “potentially hazardous debris from the former military sites” led to the Sept. 1 closure at Buxton Beach Access, which is at the south end of Old Lighthouse Road in Buxton, according to Mike Barber, National Park Service spokesperson.
“Due to a prolonged period of erosion, petroleum-contaminated soils (PCS) and parts from abandoned facilities, construction debris and septic systems, associated with historic Navy and Coast Guard activities, were observed on the beach at the Buxton Beach Access,” Barber said in an email.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore closed a small portion of beach as a precautionary measure, according to Barber. Following the closure, the Coast Guard’s Spill Response staff took sediment samples, which tested positive for petroleum hydrocarbons with characteristics of light fuel oil and lubricating oil.
Staff around the time of the closure had received some reports of headaches possibly caused by PCS odors and heard secondhand reports of surfers with headaches while surfing in nearby areas, according to Barber.
That no longer seems to be the case.
Changing wind directions and accretion of sand re-covered some of the former military-related debris, he said. “Odors from PCS have been only occasionally noticed.”
On Sept. 25, the Dare County Department of Health and Human Services issued a “precautionary public health advisory” via both a county email alert and a physical sign posted on location.
The advisory was issued in conjunction with the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Public Health, Cape Hatteras National Seashore and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The advisory recommends avoiding swimming, wading or fishing in the area from approximately 46285 Old Lighthouse Road up to and including the first jetty “until the petroleum contaminated soils are mitigated and the area is declared safe.”
It also recommends thoroughly washing with soap and water if skin encounters contaminated sediment or water.
“In addition to the potential health risks related to petroleum contamination, there are a number of remnants of previous U.S. Coast Guard and Naval installations, including concrete bunkers and steel infrastructure that may pose hazards to swimmers, surfers and beach goers,” the advisory says.
Another recommendation is for nearby residents with private drinking wells to have the water sampled to ensure it doesn’t contain contaminants. People can call the Dare County Department of Health & Human Services at 252-475-5088 to schedule sampling.
Any plumes, sheens or fish kills in this area should be reported to 800-424-8802, the advisory says.
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Risk remains unknown
Officially, it has not yet been determined if, or to what degree, any risk to human health and the environment exists.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) Program is tasked with making that determination and with addressing any petroleum contamination on the site, according to spokesperson Benjamin Garrett.
The FUDS Program “addresses environmental liabilities that resulted from Department of Defense activities at eligible properties,” Garrett said in an email. Eligible properties are defined as those that were under the control of the Department of Defense prior to Oct. 17, 1986, but transferred out of Department of Defense control by that date.
“Accordingly, if the petroleum contamination is a result of these activities, the Formerly Used Defense Sites Program will address them,” Garrett said.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers expects to receive the results of laboratory testing on soil samples the week of Nov. 27, he said in a Nov. 1 email.
“At this point, all that has been detected is the presence of weathered petroleum and diesel range organics,” Garrett said. “Until specific compounds and concentrations are determined, specific health risks cannot be addressed.”
Following the laboratory testing and a subsequent risk assessment, the agency will consult with the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality to determine next steps, Garrett said.
Cape Hatteras National Seashore is continuing to communicate its observations and concerns about the existence of PCS and debris to the Army Corps of Engineers and Coast Guard, according to Barber.
“Both agencies are evaluating the situation and if their authorities will allow for the removal of historic building infrastructure that is littering the beach,” Barber said.
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Buxton military activity
Cape Hatteras National Seashore issued a special use permit to the Navy, which operated a facility in Buxton from 1956 to 1982, according to Barber.
That permit, issued on April 27, 1955, allowed the Navy to lease 25 acres of National Park Service property near the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse for a secret mission deemed “absolutely essential” to the security of the United States, according to a National Park Service-funded research project published in 2005.
The Coast Guard used the former Navy facilities from 1984 to 2013, at which time the agreement between the Coast Guard and Cape Hatteras National Seashore expired, Barber said in an email.
At least some of the buildings may have shifted ownership before then.
A 2009 Coast Guard-authored communications tower proposal published on the National Park Service website said the former Coast Guard Station Cape Hatteras offices and maintenance buildings “were transferred to the National Park Service in 2004.”
Buxton residents have had longstanding concerns with the Navy-built groins, which are commonly called jetties.
Carol Busbey, who has lived in Buxton for 47 years and regularly surfs with her husband and son near the first (south) jetty, called the third (north) jetty “the biggest beach hazard there.”
She said leftover pieces from the military base “make appearances every now and then,” and she has seen PVC pipe, rebar and concrete foundation or other cement pieces.
But the third jetty is so deteriorated, it doesn’t hold sand, and its remnants are not visible at high tide, she said.
“It’s in such disrepair that it no longer retains sand, and without the presence of sand, there are no sandbars, resulting in the absence of surfable waves,” another Buxton resident and surfer, Rusty Midgett, explained about the third jetty.
“When they abandoned the Coast Guard base, which was once a Navy base, they stopped taking care of the jetties,” Midgett said. “People mistakenly thought the jetties were put in place to protect the lighthouse. They were installed to protect the military installation.”
The Navy built the groins to try to control beach erosion near its base, but the construction did not go well, according to a National Park Service historical document.
“In 1969, the Navy offered to fund a new $1,250,000 project to install groins near its base at Cape Hatteras that would also benefit the lighthouse, but the groins began to fail even before construction was complete,” according to the 2007 document, “The Creation and Establishment of Cape Hatteras National Seashore: The Great Depression through Mission 66.”
“Cape Hatteras National Seashore doesn’t have any plans for the jetties, most of which are outside of the park boundary,” Barber said.
