Southern Triangle Joint Use Area
Background
The Chemical Warfare Service recognized a need for expanding testing facilities shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 194 1. Dugway Proving Ground (DPG) was then established in 1942 by Executive Order of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Its mission was to develop and test chemical weapons and biological defense systems and flame, incendiary, and smoke obscurant systems. The area was selected for its seclusion and scarcity of wildlife. DPG sits on 802,724 acres in western Utah's Tooele County, north of the Dugway Mountain Range, approximately 75 miles southwest of Salt Lake City. DPG served as the primary field test area for chemical munitions from 1942 to 1947 and again from 1950 to 1969. Open air testing of chemical and biological agents was performed at DPG until 1969, when all such activities were suspended. Since then, only chemical and biological simulants have been tested in open air. DPG is now a subordinate command of U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command. In the 1940s, Dugway conducted an experiment called Project Sphinx to determine the effectiveness of chemical munitions when used against Japanese cave type fortifications. Tests employed toxic, smoke, and flame agents which were used in bombs, mortar and artillery shells, rockets, and droppable light case tanks. Gasoline, butane, the nonpersistent agents Phosgene, Cyanogen Chloride, and Hydrogen Cyanide, as well as the persistent agent
Mustard Gas were used as part of Project Sphinx.
Southern Triangle
DPG acquired the 3 1,360 acre area known as the Southern Triangle in 1955. In June 1960 the special land use permit for this area was amended to include an additional 1 1,330acres for a total 42,690 acres. This area is bounded by the DPG boundary to the north and the Dugway Mountain Range to the southwest, which contains another testing site used by DPG called the Yellow Jacket Ranges. Dugway's permit for the area was terminated in 1975 by the Bureau of Land Management, which now owns 38,179 acres while the State of Utah owns 4,5 11 acres. The area is known as the Southern Triangle Joint Use Area. DPG still controls a 640 acre square of land known as the Rising Sun Target Grid. DPG also has access to the Southern Triangle Joint Use Area to use as a buffer zone during munitions testing.
The Southern Triangle has seen extensive use as an impact area for chemical weapons tests, especially at Rising Sun. During Project Sphinx, nearly 5,000 rounds of munitions were fired into simulated fortifications that were constructed in the Rising Sun Target Grid.
prehensive Environmental Restoration, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986. The Army has hired a contractor to prepare an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (EEI CA), which should take approximately one year to complete. Then a Document of Decision explainThe Rising Sun Target Grid was used again in 1956 ing cleanup alternatives will be published, after in Project 4-55. The objective of the project was to which any recommended cleanup procedures can determine the capabilities of a battalion equipped begin. with a 4.5-inch chemical rocket. Over 1,600 rockets filled with the nerve agent Sarin were fired at The Corps of Engineers, in conjunction with officials from the Bureau of Land Management and the bunker system in Rising Sun. Dugway Proving Ground Environmental Program Potential Hazards Office, is coordinating the design and placement of signage along the perimeter of the Southern TriA fence now encloses the Rising Sun Target Grid. angle Joint Use Area and the Yellow Jacket Ranges. According to records, the area was cleared of sur- The signs will warn the public that the area may face munitions. In addition, the fortification com- contain unexploded ordnance and not to touch any plex has been destroyed. A study by the U.S. Army metal objects. Corps of Engineers (COE) in 1993 that consisted of an archives search, interviews, and site visits re- Public Involvement Opportunities ported that it is highly probable that this area is contaminated with hazardous ordnance and explosive COE seeks public involvement and input throughwaste (OEW). It is suspected that there is subsur- out the project. Availability sessions and workshops face OEW throughout the area which may come to are scheduled at key project milestones. Fact sheets the surface through erosion, frost heaving, intru- and newsletters will be distributed to keep the pubsive work such as digging, or recreational land use. lic informed of the progress and any new developAdditionally, rounds that have fallen short or long ments in the project. Officials will also conduct inof intended targets may also present public hazards. terviews with residents, concerned citizens, and Dugway personnel. Information gathered in these U.S. Army's Clean-Up Efforts community interviews will be used to develop a Public Involvement and Response Plan. COE is responsible for cleanup of formerly used defense sites (FUDS) such as the Southern Triangle. To be included on the mailing list, please call or Cleanup of FUDS are conducted under the Com- write to the address below.
Corps Seeks Public Input on Southern Triangle and Yellow Jacket Draft EEICAs
Availability Session Scheduled
The U S . Army Corps of Engineers cordially invites you to attend a Public Availability Session to comment on Draft Engineering EvaluationlCost Analyses (EEICAs) for the Southern Triangle and Yellow Jacket Formerly Used Defense Sites. The two sites are undergoing investigations to determine if the sites are contaminated with ordnance and explosive waste remaining from military tests in the 1940s and 1950s. The sites are located south of Dugway Proving Ground. The Draft EEICAs can be reviewed at the Information Repository located at the Tooele City Public Library. The public is invited to examine these documents and provide feedback to the Corps of Engineers during the Public Comment Periods, which are taking place from July 15 to August 23 and August 12 through September 20, 1996 for the Southern Triangle and Yellow Jacketsites, respectively. The Draft EE/CAs are undergoing regulatory review concurrently with the public review. Both public and regulatory comments will be incorporated into the final versions. Scheduled to attend the ~ v a i l a b i l i tSession ~ include representatives of the Corps of Engineers Sacramento District and Huntsville Division, Dugway Proving Ground, contractor personnel, and regulating agencies. The public is invited to stop by at any time during the session to ask questions and provide input directly to the project officials. HOW TO PARTICIPATE:
1. Review the Draft EE/CAs at: Tooele City Public Library 47 East Vine Tooele, Utah, 84074 Hours: Tuesday through Saturday 11 :00 a.m. to 7:OQ p.m.
2. Attend the Public Availability Session: August 21,1996 10:OO a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Holiday Inn-Airport Wasatch A Room 1659 West North Temple Salt Lake City, Utah 841 16.
Submit Written Comments to: Rai Sandhu U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento District 1325 J Street Sacramento, CA 9581 4-2922 Phone: 91 6-557-7441 FAX: 91 6-557-7865.
3. Public Comments are being accepted during the Comment Periods: Southern Triangle: July 15 to August 23, 1996 Yellow Jacket: August 12 to September 20, 1996.
Raj Sandhu U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Sacramento Distiict 1325 J Street Sacramento, CA 95814-2922