§ 2710. Inventory of unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, and munitions constituents at defense sites (other than operational ranges)

(a) Inventory Required.—

(1) The Secretary of Defense shall develop and maintain an inventory of defense sites that are known or suspected to contain unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or munitions constituents.

(2) The information in the inventory for each defense site shall include, at a minimum, the following:

(A) A unique identifier for the defense site.

(B) An appropriate record showing the location, boundaries, and extent of the defense site, including identification of the State and political subdivisions of the State, including the county, where applicable, in which the defense site is located and any Tribal lands encompassed by the defense site.

(C) Known persons and entities, other than a military department, with any current ownership interest or control of lands encompassed by the defense site.

(D) Any restrictions or other land use controls currently in place at the defense site that might affect the potential for public and environmental exposure to the unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or munitions constituents.

(b) Site Prioritization.—

(1) The Secretary shall develop, in consultation with representatives of the States and Indian Tribes, a proposed protocol for assigning to each defense site a relative priority for response activities related to unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, and munitions constituents based on the overall conditions at the defense site. After public notice and comment on the proposed protocol, the Secretary shall issue a final protocol and shall apply the protocol to defense sites listed on the inventory. The level of response priority assigned the site shall be included with the information required by subsection (a)(2).

(2) In assigning the response priority for a defense site on the inventory, the Secretary shall primarily consider factors relating to safety and environmental hazard potential, such as the following:

(A) Whether there are known, versus suspected, unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or munitions constituents on all or any portion of the defense site and the types of unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or munitions constituents present or suspected to be present.

(B) Whether public access to the defense site is controlled, and the effectiveness of these controls.

(C) The potential for direct human contact with unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or munitions constituents at the defense site and evidence of people entering the site.

(D) Whether a response action has been or is being undertaken at the defense site under the Formerly Used Defense Sites program or other program.

(E) The planned or mandated dates for transfer of the defense site from military control.

(F) The extent of any documented incidents involving unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or munitions constituents at or from the defense site, including incidents involving explosions, discoveries, injuries, reports, and investigations.

(G) The potential for drinking water contamination or the release of munitions constituents into the air.

(H) The potential for destruction of sensitive ecosystems and damage to natural resources.

(3) The priority assigned to a defense site included on the inventory shall not impair, alter, or diminish any applicable Federal or State authority to establish requirements for the investigation of, and response to, environmental problems at the defense site.

(1) The Secretary shall annually update the inventory and site prioritization list to reflect new information that becomes available. The inventory shall be available in published and electronic form.

(2) The Secretary shall work with communities adjacent to a defense site to provide information concerning conditions at the site and response activities. At a minimum, the Secretary shall provide the site inventory information and site prioritization list to appropriate Federal, State, tribal, and local officials, and, to the extent the Secretary considers appropriate, to civil defense or emergency management agencies and the public.

(d) Exceptions.— This section does not apply to the following:

(1) Any locations outside the United States.

(2) The presence of military munitions resulting from combat operations.

(3) Operating storage and manufacturing facilities.

(4) Operational ranges.

(e) Definitions.— In this section:

(1) The term “defense site” applies to locations that are or were owned by, leased to, or otherwise possessed or used by the Department of Defense. The term does not include any operational range, operating storage or manufacturing facility, or facility that is used for or was permitted for the treatment or disposal of military munitions.

(2) The term “discarded military munitions” means military munitions that have been abandoned without proper disposal or removed from storage in a military magazine or other storage area for the purpose of disposal. The term does not include unexploded ordnance, military munitions that are being held for future use or planned disposal, or military munitions that have been properly disposed of, consistent with applicable environmental laws and regulations.

(3) The term “munitions constituents” means any materials originating from unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or other military munitions, including explosive and nonexplosive materials, and emission, degradation, or breakdown elements of such ordnance or munitions.

(4) The term “possessions” includes Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Island, Nassau Island, Palmyra Island, and Wake Island.

(5) The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of Defense.

(6) The term “State” means the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the territories and possessions.

(7) The term “United States”, in a geographic sense, means the States, territories, and possessions and associated navigable waters, contiguous zones, and ocean waters of which the natural resources are under the exclusive management authority of the United States.

U.S. Code

§ 2710. Inventory of unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, and munitions constituents at defense sites (other than operational ranges)