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thedrifter
03-05-09, 06:18 AM
Helicopter helping map locations of old munitions
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March 4, 2009 - 6:24 PM
JANNETTE PIPPIN

CARTERET COUNTY - An odd-looking aircraft will be skimming over areas of Bogue Sound in the coming weeks as part of an effort to map the locations of old military munitions left behind from bombing practices more than 50 years ago.

The U.S. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Mid-Atlantic (NAVFAC), in conjunction with the Marine Corps, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources, will conduct aerial digital geophysical mapping in Bogue Sound for approximately 30 days, according to a press release from MCAS Cherry Point.

A helicopter equipped with magnetometer array is scheduled to begin flights today over a 10-square-mile investigation area in the vicinity of Wood Island. Wood Island is located in Bogue Sound about a half-mile from shore between Emerald Isle and Salter Path and sits in an area once used as a bomb target for military training, according to the release.

The digital geophysical mapping operation will be used to detect metallic objects submerged in water or buried under the ground's surface and could potentially be old munitions that remain on or near Wood Island from aerial bombing training carried out by the Marine Corps in the late 1940s and early 1950s, according to information from the Marine Corps.

"We're trying to figure out what we've got, what's out there and where it is located," said Dale McFarland of the Environmental Affairs Department at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point.

The mapping will be used to determine what future actions may be needed to ensure the public's safety and protect the environment from any hazards.

Wood Island is part of the former Bomb Target BT-2 site, known locally as Cat Island Bomb Target. While it is no longer used for training, the bomb target site is associated with Cherry Point and is owned by the Department of Defense, according to information from the Marine Corps.

According to information from the Marine Corps, it was used from 1943 to 1952 for bombing practice using inert munitions. From 1952 to 1955, aerial training involved the use of live munitions.

Training reportedly stopped in 1955 due to the residences nearby.

Marines periodically removed munitions from the surface while the targets were still in use. About 1957, attempts were made to clean up munitions on the island but the technology at the time was not capable of doing a thorough cleaning, according to information on the project.

Over time, munitions that were once underwater have washed onto shore.

Wood Island is closed to public use, and signs around the island warn the public of hazards from munitions but safety remains an issue because of the easy access to it. The island is close to shore and in an area used by fishermen, boaters and others.

The site investigation at Wood Island is part of an overall Munitions Response Program established in 2001 to more effectively investigate hazards posed by military munitions and carry out response actions. As of 2006, the DoD had identified more than 3,300 sites, including 240 Navy/Marine sites, that may require response actions.

The digital geophysical mapping operation over Bogue Sound will take place daily during daylight hours only.

Boaters are urged to remain clear of the survey blocks within the investigation area where active flyovers are occurring. There will be opportunities for boats to transit these areas several times a day, during the breaks when the helicopter returns to the airfield to refuel.

The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway will not be affected.

Staff writer Jannette Pippin can be reached at jpippin@freedomenc.com or 910-382-2557.

Here's how to find out where and when DGM flyovers will occur:

U.S. Coast Guard Fifth District's Local Notice to Mariners and Broadcast Notice to Mariners is updated each Tuesday and available online at www.uscg.mil.

Contact the Bogue Sound Adventures, which will be onsite daily during the investigation period, on Marine Channel 16 VHF-FM (156.8 MHz)

Call 1-877-827-1266 (toll free) for details of daily flyover operations.

Ellie