For dumpster support call Public Works Department at 910-451-3001 to submit a work request.

The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Solid Waste Management Unit (SWMU) Program Purpose:

The SWMU program was developed in 1996 when Marine Corps Base (MCB), Camp Lejeune received a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) Part B Permit and is concerned with the assessment and remediation of contamination originating from SWMUs.   SWMUs are defined as: any unit which has been used for the treatment, storage, or disposal of solid waste at any time.  These units include storage tanks, dumpsters, waste piles, drain fields, waste treatment units, surface impoundments, and any other unit that satisfies the above definition.

The RCRA Part B Permit stipulates guidelines for the SWMU assessment and remediation process.  Initially, confirmatory sampling is performed to identify the existence and severity of any release from a SWMU.  Based on the confirmatory sampling results, the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) will determine if further investigation is required or if the SWMU can receive a “no further action” decision.  If further investigation is required, a RCRA Facility Investigation is performed to determine the nature and extent of the release and the potential pathways that contaminants may follow into the environment.  Following the RCRA Facility Investigation, a Corrective Measures Study will evaluate possible remedial technologies to clean-up released contaminants and provide a plan to implement the selected remedial technology.  At any point through the investigative process, an Interim Measure may be performed.  Interim Measures are necessary to minimize or prevent the further migration of contaminants and limit human and environmental exposure to contaminants.

Initially, the RCRA Facility Assessment identified over 500 possible SWMUs.  Following on discussions with NCDEQ and the Base, 62 SWMUs required confirmatory sampling. Confirmatory Sampling Investigations were conducted for the identified SWMUs, plus six SWMUs subsequently identified by the Base and two Phases of Confirmatory Sampling were completed.  The conclusions of the investigations, agreed upon by NCDEQ, resulted in 52 sites recommended for no further action, 5 sites recommended for interim measures, and 11 sites recommended for RCRA Facility Investigation.

In coordination with NCDEQ, corrective action (remediation) and confirmation sampling at these sites and subsequently discovered sites, have reduced the current site list to six (6) active SWMUs being addressed under the RCRA Program, all of which have a remedy in place.  An active RCRA Facility Investigation is currently in process for the former steam plant facility.

For more information on the SWMU program, please contact the Installation Restoration Program Manager at 910-915-9773/910-451-9641 or email Lejeune_IR_Program@usmc.mil