Post-Closure Activities

MEC Removal Activities

A 1949 memorandum indicates that, following the reduction of the Trabuco Bombing Range leasehold area to 503 acres, "the excess portion of Plano Trabuco Target Area had been cleared of all surface scrap, and requested that arrangements be made for decontamination by screening the area with a mine detector." The Archives Search Report for the site indicates that "documentation was not found to clearly indicate if mine detectors were ever obtained to complete surface decontamination".

When the government lease on the Trabuco Bombing Range site was concluded in the 1950s, no formal cleanup was instituted, and a large amount of ordnance remained in the area. Earlier site-related documentation and anecdotal comments in newspaper articles indicate that many of the ordnance items remaining on the former range area were located and either stockpiled or removed by the people farming the property.

Military Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) personnel were often called on by the property owners to assist with the clearance efforts; and additional material was removed by the Orange County Hazardous Device Squad (OCHDS) in the 1980s during development activities.

A joint clearance operation was conducted by the OCHDS and the MCAS El Toro Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Unit in June 1984, when the Santa Margarita Company began development activities in the area, resulting in the identification and clearance of a significant amount of ordnance.

The most recent site-related activity was the Time Critical Removal Action (TCRA) conducted in 2003-2004 following the discovery of several pieces of ordnance by the contractor working on an extension to the Trabuco Canyon Bikeway. This action -a sweep of several areas in and adjacent to the path of the bikeway extension -resulted in the discovery and disposal of a total of eleven MEC items, all of them inert.

MEC Disposal Summary

The exact number or volume of MEC items removed from the former TBR area since range activities were terminated some 50 years ago cannot be determined. Much of the clearance was conducted casually by landowners and contractors, and few if any records were kept. Additionally, government-conducted clearance activities likely included the removal of significant quantities of non-ordnance scrap from the areas swept, which may have skewed weight-based reports significantly.

Post-Closure MMRP/FUDS Activities

This section provides an overview of the formal procedures conducted by the USACE during the process of moving toward site closure under the DERP/FUDS program.

Inventory Project Report (INPR): In September 1989, a DERP-FUDS Assessment of the former Trabuco Bombing Range was initiated. This procedure involves the formal review of historical documentation to determine "whether, and to what extent, environmental restoration is needed at the site."

At the conclusion of this assessment process, an Inventory Project Report (INPR) was issued in February 1991 for the site (referred to as the "Temecula Bombing Range") now identified as FUDS Project Number J09CA020900. This assessment included the following findings and recommendations:

Findings of Fact: "It is determined that an environmental restoration project to the extent set out herein, is an appropriate undertaking ..."

Project Recommendations: "Further Department of Defense response should involve a project to remediate ordnance and explosive waste (OEW) contamination at the site. The proposed project, which will be conducted by the Los Angeles Division [of the USACE], should include a feasibility study and an environmental impact statement or assessment, as well as ordnance removal and disposal. Under OEW risk assessment procedures, the site's Risk Assessment Code (RAC) is 2. RAC 2 sites require action to mitigate the hazard or protect personnel. A feasibility study is appropriate."

Archives Search Report (ASR): An Archives Search Report (ASR) was issued for the "Plano Trabuco Target Area" in October 1993. This report presents the findings of a records search and a site inspection for "potential ordnance contamination" at the TBR by US Army ammunition specialists. The report concludes that "...varying degrees of OEW have been (could be) found throughout the entire area. However, it does appear that little, if any, OEW has ever been recovered in the extreme northern area of the range" (ASR, p. 19).

Time Critical Removal Action (TCRA): As noted above, an Orange County Bikeway construction crew encountered multiple Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) in the bikeway expansion area in September 2003. A total of eleven practice bombs was found in the area south of the Santa Margarita bridge. Three of these items contained spotting charges and were detonated by the Orange County Sheriff's Bomb Squad. Following USACE/governmental review of the bikeway situation, a Time Critical Removal Action (TCRA) was initiated. During field activities conducted in May of 2004, eleven items of Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) --all of them inert --were detected and subsequently removed.

The Task Order for the current project was issued by the USACE to Innovative Technical Solutions, Inc. (ITSI) in March 2005. The primary objective of the project is implementation of a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) to adequately characterize the former Trabuco Bombing Range FUDS for the purpose of developing and evaluating effective remedial alternatives. Additional information about this project is presented on the Current Project page.

If you find suspicious items that may be military ordnance/munitions, DO NOT TOUCH! Mark the area for identification and call 911 immediately!

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