Introduction
     This "website" contains individual site summaries for each of the Hawthorne Army Depot's 123 Installation Restoration Program (IRP) and Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) sites. Each site summary webpage includes a discussion of the contaminants of concern, the type of scientific investigations conducted to date, and a proposed planning process for completing site remediation activities. A "clickable" photo is available for most sites. As sites are closed, or otherwise determined to require no further remedial action, NDEP will amend each individual site summary as appropriate. This recordation process will serve to document the long-term stewardship decisions and responsibilities at the depot.

Additional Background:
     This website documents the ongoing status of the U.S. Army's Installation Restoration Program at the Hawthorne Army Depot. The Depot is located in Mineral County Nevada approximately 135 miles southeast of Reno and is contiguous to, and surrounds the community of Hawthorne, Nevada. Hawthorne has a resident population of about 4,000 people.

     The depot covers an area of approximately 150,000 acres. It is bounded on three sides by mountains -- the Wassuk mountain Range on the west, the Gills Range on the east, and the Excelsior Mountains on the south. Walker lake, a comparatively large, terminal, desert lake, bounds the depot on the north.

     The Army depot is a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) military industrial installation. The resident contractor is Day and Zimmerman/Hawthorne Corporation; total employment varies between 400 and 700 personnel. The current mission of the depot is to receive, issue, store renovate, inspect, demilitarize and dispose of conventional ammunition.

     The depot contains over 2,600 buildings or structures, of which 2,200 are explosive storage magazines. It is considered the largest conventional munitions depot in the western hemisphere, if not the entire world.

Regulatory Process:
     The depot is not on the National Priority List (NPL), although the Army follows the CERCLA/RCRA process for remediation activities. Studies and investigations have been conducted under the guidance of the State of Nevada -- Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP). The regulatory process for remediation activities is governed under RCRA (Resource Conservation and Recovery Act).

Contamination Profile
     Since 1974 site investigations and groundwater monitoring have been conducted by the Army and the US Geological Survey (USGS). The primary contaminants of concern are explosives (TNT) and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO). The individual contaminated sites vary in size and complexity, but generally follow the categories listed below:

     As of June 2000, the Army, with concurrence from NDEP, defined the 123 sites in two general categories: 46 Active sites and, 77 sites defined as "response complete " under the Installation Restoration Program.

Stewardship Responsibilities:
     As mentioned above, as sites are closed or otherwise determined to require no further remedial actions, NDEP will amend each individual site summary as appropriate. This recordation process will serve to document the long-term stewardship decisions and responsibilities for the IRP at Hawthorne Army Depot.

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