High tide in Outer Banks exposes old military site, petroleum contamination closes stretch of beach
A stretch of beach in Cape Hatteras is closed due to petroleum contamination suspected to be from Cold War-era Navy infrastructure.
A recent storm exposed debris from a once-secret military site on Buxton Beach. As a result, about one-third of a mile of the beach was closed Sunday due to the petroleum contamination continuing to spread.
The National Park Service reports there is a pungent odor, similar to the smell of diesel, floating across the beach in Buxton and a sheen on the water. Homes were dangling over the shoreline in Buxton on Wednesday, worsening an already severe erosion problem.
"It's safe to say that it's some of the worst I've ever seen," said Joy Crist, an editor with Island Free Press. "Seeing these exposed homes, sandbags, septic tanks ... just the shoreline so deteriorated with so much infrastructure on the beach."
Pipes and other infrastructure emerging from the sand are remnants of a facility used by the Navy in the 1950s and later by the Coast Guard.
Dave Hallac, superintendent for Cape Hatteras National Seashore, suspects the site is leeching petroleum contamination, spurring beach closures and a public health advisory.
"We have noticed a strong odor of petroleum," Hallac said. "And there has been some observations of a sheen that is most likely being caused by petroleum."
The Army Corps of Engineers removed more than 4,000 tons of petroleum from the site between the 1980s and 2005. Officials said they are now awaiting an action plan from the Army Corps about the continued cleanup.
"It's our understanding that they are reviewing all the data they have collected and that has been presented to them to make a determination of whether or not this is something they are going to address," Hallac said.
With more storms on the way in coming days, many residents are worried about the continued erosion making the petroleum problem worse.
"It's a mess, and it's going take a very long time to clean it up," Crist said.
The NPS reports a two-tenths mile stretch of the beach had already been closed since September 2021 due to petroleum contamination. On Sunday, the closure was expanded to close the Buxton Beach Access, located at the end of Old Lighthouse Road.
The closed section of the beach now covers three-tenths of a mile starting at the southernmost beachfront home in the village of Buxton and ending at the first (southernmost) jetty.
Officials have issued a precautionary public health advisory due to impacts from petroleum-contaminated soils that have leeched into the ground water.
A public meeting about the contamination will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Fessenden Center in Buxton.
Last weekend's rainy and windy weather closed N.C. Highway 12 from the National Park Service Pony Pens to the ferry terminal at the north end of the island until at least noon on Saturday. Sand and overwash on the road continue to be a problem, according to the NCDOT.
