Two former military training areas at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune in North Carolina are scheduled for environmental cleanup, with public input currently being accepted on the proposed plans.
The base’s Restoration Advisory Board introduced the plans Tuesday for two sites identified as UXO 28 and UXO 29. UXO stands for unexploded ordnance, indicating potentially hazardous materials remaining from past military activities.
The cleanup is a coordinated effort by the U.S. Department of the Navy, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality, and the Environmental Protection Agency. For each site, authorities consider several cleanup options before selecting a preferred approach.
For UXO 28, the proposed plan is Alternative 2, which involves land use controls. These controls include warning signs and construction oversight to ensure safety during any future development or activity on site. Officials emphasized that the conditions of each site require individual consideration when selecting cleanup measures.
Onslow County gets $1.6M federal grant for infrastructure study
Onslow County has received $1.6 million from the U.S. Department of Defense to fund an infrastructure resiliency study in partnership with the City of Jacksonville and Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune.
The Department of Defense’s Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation awarded the $1,629,621 grant to help communities evaluate and strengthen infrastructure near military installations.
At its most recent meeting, the Onslow County Board of Commissioners approved a $1.3 million contract with engineering firm Tetra Tech to conduct the study.
The study will assess key infrastructure systems supporting residents, businesses, and military operations. Areas of focus include water, wastewater, energy, and transportation networks, with specific attention to water and wastewater connections between the Onslow Water and Sewer Authority and Camp Lejeune, and electrical links between Duke Progress Energy and Jones-Onslow Electric Membership Corporation.
Transportation routes to the ports of Morehead City and Wilmington will also be reviewed.
Officials said the goal is to understand how these systems interact and to identify priorities for protection or upgrades to support emergency response and future growth.
A planning group with representatives from Onslow County, Jacksonville, and Camp Lejeune will oversee the project and review its findings.
Completion is expected by January 2027. Officials said study results may help secure further state and federal funding for infrastructure improvements.
