Iowa site nears completion of active remediation

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, St. Louis District, Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP)
Published March 31, 2023
Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAAP) project manager Mike Kessler explains the soil-sorting process to the director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management, Carmelo Melendez, and his associate, Gwen Hooten, at IAAAP in Middleton, Iowa, Sept. 9. Hooten is DOE-LM’s CERCLA/RCRA/FUSRAP team lead. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) is the law that governs FUSRAP. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) governs solid-waste and hazardous-waste transportation, treatment, storage and disposal.

Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAAP) project manager Mike Kessler explains the soil-sorting process to the director of the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management, Carmelo Melendez, and his associate, Gwen Hooten, at IAAAP in Middleton, Iowa, Sept. 9. Hooten is DOE-LM’s CERCLA/RCRA/FUSRAP team lead. The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) is the law that governs FUSRAP. The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) governs solid-waste and hazardous-waste transportation, treatment, storage and disposal.

The Iowa Army Ammunition Plant (IAAAP) Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP) site is continuing remediation at Firing Site (FS)-12. As of mid-August 2022, fewer than four survey units still required excavation. As an effective yet cost-saving measure, FUSRAP remediates using a soil-sorting method that segregates depleted uranium from the excavated soil. In fiscal year 2023 as of March 16, FUSRAP added 884.22 cubic yards of contaminated soil shipped (to a licensed, out-of-state disposal facility) to its total shipped through FY22 -- 43,386 CY -- for a grand total of about 44,270 CY.

In many places at the IAAAP FUSRAP site, the project delivery team is restoring areas of remediation or has completed restoration, which includes backfilling, grading and hydroseeding.

In addition, the project delivery team developed a Post-Remedial Action Report/Final Status Survey Evaluation (PRAR/FSSE) for FS-12 survey units cleared in 2021 and other documentation leading to the closeout of Operable Unit (OU)-8. Despite the significant number of mechanical delays that had occurred during remediation of FS-12, the remediation was completed, and the PRAR/FSSE was with regulators for review as of March 16.

Turnover to the Department of Energy’s Office of Legacy Management (DOE-LM) after Remediation Complete is scheduled for fiscal year 2026.