[CPEO-MEF] MUNITIONS, FORMER SITES: Culebra (PR) cleanup advances,

[Lenny Siegel]

Munitions cleanup on Culebra advances, increasing safety for public recreational use

by Catalina Carrasco
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville District
July 25, 2019


Culebra Island, located 17 miles east of Puerto Rico’s main island, is known for its white, soft sands, which makes it a favorite vacationing spot for tourists seeking to snorkel and find treasures in its waters. Unfortunately, some of those treasures may actually be unexploded ordnance due to the island’s history.

Beginning in 1901, the U.S. military used Culebra and adjacent cays as a coaling station and a radio transmitter facility. After World War II began, the Culebra Archipelago became the primary gunnery and bombing practice site for the U.S. Navy in 1939 and continued to be used for these purposes until 1975. As a result, unexploded ordnance remain present on Culebra’s land and in its surrounding waters.  

The island was approved for inclusion in the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) for Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS) in 1991, with the exception of the area known as the Northwest Peninsula, known as NWP, as Congress specifically prohibited the use of federal funds for its cleanup.  

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For the entire release, see
https://www.dvidshub.net/news/333084/munitions-cleanup-culebra-advances-increasing-safety-public-recreational-use

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Lenny Siegel
Executive Director
Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
P.O. Box 998, Mountain View, CA 94042
Voice/Fax: 650/961-8918 
<lsiegel at cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org