The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is conducting work at The Former Blue Beach Disposal Area Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) using the processes under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), which was enacted by Congress in 1980. This law provides broad federal authority to respond directly to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances that may endanger public health or the environment. The FUDS program addresses only Department of Defense (DoD)-generated eligible contamination, which occurred before the transfer of the property to private owners or federal, state or local governments.

The Former Blue Beach Disposal Area encompasses approximately 21.5 acres in North Kingstown Rhode Island. It is located in the southwestern portion of the Quonset Business Park (formerly the Quonset Point Naval Air Station [NAS]). It is comprised of the Project Area where DoD activities took place that created the contamination, and adjacent properties which were impacted by contamination migrating from the Project Area. These adjacent properties include a walking path, tidal stream, Red Maple Swamp, and the Blue Beach recreational area. The contamination include metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs) and was the result of the Project Area’s former use as a salvage yard.