Munitions cleanup at former Fort McClellan nearing completition

Officials say the last  of the unexploded munitions at the former Fort McClellan will be cleaned up by the end of the month. The last bit of ordnance will then be destroyed during a special ceremony Oct. 15 at McClellan.  Robin Scott, executive director of the McClellan Development Authority, t said the remaining munitions cleanup includes 7.5 acres in a currently restricted area at McClellan.  Once the munitions are removed and final environmental remediation work is complete the site will be opened for recreational use.  By the end of the year, crews will have removed unexploded ordnance from 4,700 acres at McClellan since the fort closed down in 1999.  All of the munitions cleanup work has been paid for through federal money. The MDA expects to spend $20.7 million on environmental cleanup by the end of the 2014 fiscal year.

The authority received the final $56 million from the Army earlier this year, needed to finish the McClellan cleanup. The final appropriation will pay for the next 15 years of planned cleanup, which will mainly include groundwater remidiation

and other environmental monitoring activities. Including the $56 million, the MDA will have received $216 million in federal money for the cleanup.