Buxton Beach Access

Background

Petroleum, naphthalene, methylnaphthalene, and other petroleum byproducts and chemicals are currently polluting a public beach on Hatteras Island in the Village of Buxton.  This contamination is the result of Naval activity between 1956 and 1982, in which the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is responsible for remediation.  

Coastal storms, erosion, and continual tidal flooding have unearthed massive concrete building foundations and other jagged structures abandoned by the Navy and the Army Corps in the 1980s. These ruins are now obstructing the beach and causing physical hazards, particularly at high tide where swimmers and surfers could crash into them. Septic system components and an extraordinary number of wires are protruding from the dunes. The Corps should have removed all these hazards in the mid-1980s but since they remain it has rendered this area of the National Seashore unsafe and unusable for people and wildlife alike.

The Army Corps is required to remove these dangerous items under its federal legal obligations under the Formerly Used Defense Sites Program, as well as commitments made in writing to the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, the National Park Service, and the public at large. (Documentation included below)

On April 5, 2024, the Federation and the Southern Environmental Law Center submitted a demand letter to the USACE insisting they meet their legal obligation of removal of petroleum pollution, building fragments, septic systems, and all other hazards left behind by the Navy at its formerly used defense site (FUDS) in Cape Hatteras National Seashore near the village of Buxton. 

This letter was the result of multiple on-site visits, public meetings, and information gathering since the site originally tested positive for petroleum contamination in September 2023.