Advanced UXO Classification QAPP Implementation: Marpi Point Case Study

English Abstract:

As it currently stands, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has a Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) liability estimated to be well into the billions of dollars. Traditional unexploded ordnance (UXO) remediation methodologies involve intrusively investigating many anomalies which turn out to be non-hazardous, driving up the cost of clearances. Since 2009, the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP), Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP), and United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) have teamed up to push forward a new branch of technology known as Advanced Classification. Advanced Classification allows for the ability to classify subsurface metallic objects into targets of interest (TOI), such as munitions and explosives of concern (MEC), and non-targets of interest (non-TOI) such as frag, horseshoes, and other non-hazardous debris.

The USACE is currently working on a Treatability Study at the Former Marpi Point Field in Saipan, CNMI to determine the applicability of Advanced Classification to potential future remediation work at the site. This talk will summarize the work to date, and will focus on implementation of the new Intergovernmental Data Quality Task Force (IDQTF) Uniform Federal Policy for Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPP) Template.