THE PAST
The U.S. captured Guam from Japan in August 1944 as a part of its Pacific campaign during World War II. By April 1945, the 64th and 771st Anti-Aircraft Artillery Battalions occupied the area referred to as “Area 101," with most of the site designated for use as the Army Garrison Forces Bomb Disposal. The 64th AAA Battalion remained in Guam through August 1945, and the 771st AAA Battalion remained through September 1946.
The Area 101 FUDS property is in the community of Lupog, in the Municipality of Yigo, Guam, and consists of approximately 842 acres, immediately south of Andersen Air Force Base.
THE PRESENT
Today, DoD is responsible for the environmental restoration (cleanup) of properties that were formerly owned by, leased to or otherwise possessed by the U.S. and under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of Defense prior to October 1986. Such properties are known as Formerly Used Defense Sites, or FUDS. The U.S. Army is DoD’s lead agent for the FUDS Program.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers executes the FUDS Program on behalf of the U.S. Army and DoD. The U.S. Army and DoD are dedicated to protecting human health and the environment by investigating and, if required, cleaning up potential contamination including munitions that may remain on these properties from past DoD activities.
USACE has begun the process of obtaining Right of Entry, or ROE, documents to start field investigations that will include surface and subsurface removal of munitions and debris within areas that posed a risk to the public.
THE WORK
To perform the Remedial Investigation, the Corps must complete work in the field. This field work will require the Corps to access property of landowner(s) within the Project Area. The Corps must request a Right of Entry, or ROE, from each landowner to access their property. An ROE is a legal document that gives the Corps access for a specified amount of time to conduct specific activities as part of an investigation or remediation on privately owned property. The Corps will request an ROE by calling and mailing letters to landowners. The Corps is currently seeking ROEs.