Across the country, the Department of Defense acquired properties, often during times of war, to use for military training, testing and demonstrations. When no longer needed, many of these properties were cleaned up according to the best practices available at the time and then transferred to other owners such as private individuals or other government entities. These Formerly Used Defense Sites can range from privately owned farms to National Parks. They also include residential, industrial and educational properties. The Department of Defense is committed to protecting people and the environment and improving public safety by cleaning up these sites if hazards from the former military operations remain.

Formerly Used Defense Sites are properties that were under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense and owned by, leased by, or otherwise possessed by the United States (including governmental entities that are the legal predecessors of the Department of Defense or its components) that were transferred from the Department of Defense prior to October 17, 1986.  The Defense Environmental Restoration Program-Formerly Used Defense Sites was established to evaluate and, if necessary, to remediate these properties.  The Army is the lead agency for the Formerly Used Defense Sites program, and the Corps, on behalf of the Army and the Department of Defense, is the executing agent, which is responsible for environmental restoration of all Formerly Used Defense Sites.

Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, also known as Superfund, in 1980 and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act in 1986. These laws give the Corps the authority for certain cleanup activities and dictate the process we must follow. The Corps conducts investigations to determine the potential risk to people and the environment from the military's use of the property. Public involvement and community participation are important components of the process. We partner with stakeholders throughout the process, including congressional representatives, state and local governments, regulatory and environmental agencies, and affected property owners.

The Camp Wellfleet formerly used defense site (FUDS) is located in the town of Wellfleet, Barnstable County, Massachusetts. It is approximately one mile east of South Wellfleet, Massachusetts on the Cape Cod peninsula. It consists of a total of 1,738 acres - of which approximately 1,688 acres are located in the Cape Cod National Seashore (CCNS) and approximately 49 acres in the town of Wellfleet, Massachusetts. The site is accessible from U.S. Route 6, which is located just west of the site. 

The environmental setting for the site comprises beaches and dunes, heathlands and grasslands, and forested areas. The area is currently used for recreational sunbathing, surfing, fishing, hiking, hunting, and picnicking. Land use at the site is projected to remain recreational.

The Camp Wellfleet FUDS site was previously used by the U.S. Army and the U.S. Navy for training purposes. The 1,738-acre property was leased beginning in 1942 for an antiaircraft artillery training base, with an artillery firing line located along the beach cliff. The site was used as such by the U.S. Army until June 1944, when it temporarily closed. From January 1945 through the end of World War II, the U.S. Navy used the base as a mobile radar training school supporting Navy night fighter training based in Quonset Point, Rhode Island, and for Dove missile training. From 1945 to 1961 the Camp also was used for training by National Guard troops and Active Army Reserve anti-aircraft artillery training units. 

Munitions and explosives of concern (MEC) may remain within the project area. This project falls under the Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) of the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP). The Department of Defense (DoD) established the MMRP to address MEC (unexploded ordnance [UXO], discarded military munitions [DMM], and munitions constituents (MC) in high enough concentrations to pose an explosive threat) that are located on certain properties, including FUDS. Under the DERP, the U.S. Army is the DoD’s lead Agency for FUDS, and USACE executes FUDS for the Army.

Camp Wellfleet was declared as excess and officially closed on June 30, 1961. The Department of the Interior acquired the land through a Declaration of Taking in August 1961 to establish and develop the CCNS. The majority of the Camp Wellfleet FUDS property is currently owned by the National Park Service. The town of Wellfleet owns and manages approximately 49 acres.