UPDATE: Click here to view the UXO-31 Public Meeting Video.
To ensure that Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Lejeune units are combat ready, certain areas on the Base are used to train military personnel in the use of munitions. For safety purposes, each munitions training range is associated with a safety buffer area, called a surface danger zone (SDZ). More information about SDZs is provided in Background on SDZs.
In 2007, Marine Corps Installations East – MCB Camp Lejeune (MCIEAST - MCB Camp Lejeune) discovered that portions of some SDZs had been located outside the surveyed Base boundary at times dating back to the 1940s. Active range boundaries were adjusted so that the SDZ for each range now lies entirely within the Base boundary. Although there was no indication that a safety risk existed, munitions or munitions-related debris could have previously landed beyond the current boundaries of the Base. Investigations were conducted in 2010 and 2013 and found munitions and munitions-related items just north of the former target area on Browns Island.
The off-Base SDZ area covers approximately 1,600 acres and is predominantly marshland. Most of this area consists of the SDZ for former Rocket Range Number 1, which has not been used for more than 60 years. The potentially affected area originally included three private properties totaling approximately 301 acres, as well as the southwestern tip of Bear Island (182 acres of Hammocks Beach State Park), State-owned salt marshes that lie between Bear Island and the mainland, State waters used for fishing and recreation (including portions of Bear Creek), and shallow water areas of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
Previous investigations indicate an area of 176 acres between Browns and Sanders Island is the primary location where munitions of concern were found. In 2014, warning signs were installed around this area, designated as Site UXO-31, to inform the public of the potential explosive dangers present. Following recommendations of the 2014 Expanded Site Inspection, the current investigations will focus on the reduced 176 acres area.
More information on investigations can be reviewed here.
UPDATE: Summer 2025 survey near Bear Island
A survey of the off-base UXO-31 area was conducted from June 2025 to February 2026. Certified drone pilots conducted the survey with an unmanned aircraft system (drone) with an attached magnetic sensor to survey the area.
A public meeting was held on March 26, 2025 to discuss UXO-31 and the recent survey. A link to view the recording of this meeting is at the top of this page.
Additional survey work of the off-base UXO-31 area will continue in April 2026 along with intrusive activities to find and remove possible unexploded ordnance.
For More Information:
The Administrative Record File (a complete record of documents that were used to make investigation and cleanup decisions) and other information about MCB Camp Lejeune’s Environmental Restoration and Munitions Response Programs are available online at:
https://go.usa.gov/xSdBH
If you have questions, please contact the Communications Strategy and Operations Public Affairs Officer at mcieastcommstrat@usmc.mil or (910)-526-2303.
