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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Louisville District has signed a Record of Decision (ROD) for the former Camp Breckinridge, a Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) located in Union County, Kentucky.
Project manager for the USACE Louisville District’s Environmental Support Section within the Military Branch of the Planning, Programs and Project Management Division, Matthew Kluge, explained that the purpose of a ROD is to document the selection of the remedial action.
“It defines the agreed upon remedy and the goals and objectives of the remedial activities, current and future land uses, projected costs, and community involvement and participation,” Kluge said.
He also explained that USACE coordinates with the state regulator, Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection, in the development of the ROD.
For various periods between 1942 and 1962 the range complex at Camp Breckinridge was used by the Army and National Guard for training in small arms, hand grenades, mortars and artillery firing.
Today, USACE executes the FUDS program on behalf of the Department of Defense, investigating and cleaning up potential contamination or munitions that may remain on these properties from past DOD activities.
The former Camp Breckinridge is a 6,667-acre High Use Area (HUA) and Low Use Area (LUA) Munitions Response Site (MRS) consisting of the portion of the former range complex where previous investigations identified high- and low-density munitions and explosives of concern and munitions debris. Currently, this area is used for residential, industrial and recreational uses.
“Farmers are actively farming the fields and have, on several occasions, found munitions and explosives of concern and munitions debris,” said Kluge. “They need to continue to work their fields whether we conduct work or not, so from a safety standpoint, this is a high priority project.”
The selected remedy is Focused Surface and Subsurface Removal (with Analog Anomaly Reduction) and Land Use Controls, including a surface sweep of the munitions response site to assist in identifying and removing surface Munitions and Explosives of Concerns. Dynamic Advanced Geophysical Classification will be used in both the HUA and LUA for locating and identifying items to be removed.
“The Record of Decision was being worked on by the project delivery team for close to four years,” said Kluge. The ROD faced a high level of scrutiny from the USACE Headquarters and USACE Environmental and Munitions Mandatory Center of Expertise (EMCX) leading to extensive coordination of reviews, checks and backchecks, as well as additional public meetings.
Kluge noted that strong internal and interagency relationships ultimately helped get the ROD signed.
“Past challenges to getting the Record of Decision signed were primarily overcome through constant coordination with our technical partners at the EMCX, the state regulators at Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection, and with USACE Headquarters,” he said. “A lot of teamwork was involved among the team members at both the U.S. Army Engineering and Support Center, Huntsville and the Louisville District, and I think a major impact on the team’s ability to problem solve on the fly was that any time a problem arose, the team was able to take care of it quickly rather than letting it build.”
Although high priority, it is anticipated the Remedial Action-Construction Phase will take 30 years, which USACE anticipates conducting via contractors with USACE oversight, prior to moving into Long Term Management to ensure the project continues to meet its objectives.
“I am incredibly proud of the team’s dedication and persistence in reaching this major milestone for the Camp Breckinridge High Use and Low Use Areas,” said Corey Knox, Louisville District’s Environmental Support Section chief. “The signed Record of Decision is a significant achievement that reflects years of collaboration, technical excellence and stakeholder engagement. It outlines a path forward to address munitions hazards while supporting the protection of human health, the environment, and valuable farmland in the surrounding community.”
| Date Taken: | 08.28.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.28.2025 14:51 |
| Story ID: | 546797 |
| Location: | MORGANFIELD, KENTUCKY, US |
| Hometown: | MORGANFIELD, KENTUCKY, US |
| Web Views: | 24 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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