Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Calverton

Last updated
Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Calverton
Part of United States Navy
Riverhead, New York
Coordinates 40°54′45″N72°47′44″W / 40.91250°N 72.79556°W / 40.91250; -72.79556
TypeAircraft manufacturing plant
Site information
Controlled byNavy
Open to
the public		Partially
Site history
In use1956–1996
Calverton Executive Airpark
Calverton Airfield NAN4-80.jpg
Calverton in 1979–1980
Summary
Airport typePublic-owned, private-use
Owner Town of Riverhead
Location Calverton, New York
Elevation  AMSL 75 ft / 23 m
Coordinates 40°54′54″N072°47′31″W / 40.91500°N 72.79194°W / 40.91500; -72.79194
Runways
Direction LengthSurface
ftm
14/3210,0003,048 Asphalt/concrete
5/237,0002,133Asphalt/concrete

Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Calverton (NWIRP) was a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) facility which had the mission of designing, fabricating, and testing prototype aircraft from 1956 until 1996, in Riverhead, New York, United States.

Contents

Geography

The Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant (NWIRP) is located on Grumman Boulevard in Calverton, New York. The facility is in a rural area, bordered by Middle County Road (route 25) to the north, agricultural land to the east, River Road to the south, and Wading River Road to the west. [3] It is also in close proximity to North Fork (Long Island) and South Fork (Long Island) ("Hamptons") communities, within 60 miles of JFK International Airport, La Guardia Airport, and Islip MacArthur Airport. [4]

History

Line of production of the F-14A Tomcat in 1986 Grumman F-14A production line Calverton 1986 mfr 863853 (GHC via RJF) (18355107845).jpg
Line of production of the F-14A Tomcat in 1986

In about 1950, the United States Navy purchased about 6,000 acres (2,400 ha) on the Peconic River by New York Route 25 for the facility. Among the properties purchased was a mansion belonging to the grandson of F.W. Woolworth.

The Navy built, among other things, a 10,000-foot (3,000 m) runway. It is labeled on topographic maps as Grumman Peconic River Airport [5] with an FAA code of CTO.

The plant was most associated with assembling, flight testing, refitting, and retrofitting naval aircraft like the Grumman A-6 Intruder, E-2 Hawkeye, EA-6B Prowler and Grumman F-14 Tomcat. [6] Older U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps aircraft such as the F9F Panther, F-9 Cougar, and F-11 Tiger were also tested at the facility.[ citation needed ] They also conducted fire fighting training exercises. The Grumman site consisted of "Plant Six", where final assembly of F-14s, A-6s, EA-6Bs, and E-2Cs took place, and "Plant Seven" for Flight Test.[ citation needed ]

During the Space Race, Grumman built a mockup of the lunar surface to test its proposed Lunar Roving Vehicle. Many of the lunar astronauts were said to have visited the plant then.[ citation needed ]

In 1965, New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller proposed converting the airport into the fourth New York City metropolitan airport, joining Laguardia Airport, John F. Kennedy Airport and Newark Airport. The proposal was abandoned following opposition from both Grumman and local residents.[ citation needed ]

In 1974, when the two National Cemeteries on Long Island (Cypress Hills National Cemetery and Long Island National Cemetery) were running out of space, the Navy was approached about donating its undeveloped land north of Route 25 for a cemetery. On December 7, 1977, a 902 acres (365 ha) tract was donated to form Calverton National Cemetery. In 2000, more land would be donated by the Navy bringing the total to 1,045 acres (423 ha) making it the largest national cemetery in the United States.

In 1994, Grumman merged with Northrop Corporation, forming Northrop Grumman Corporation, and the new firm eliminated almost all operations on Long Island. On February 14, 1996, Grumman vacated the site. [7]

On July 17, 1996, TWA Flight 800 exploded on departure from John F. Kennedy International Airport at about 13,000 feet, falling into the Atlantic off of Long Island. The NTSB brought the wreckage to a hangar it had leased in Calverton for examination and reconstruction of the Boeing 747. It was stored here until 2003, when it was moved to an NTSB facility in Ashburn, Virginia. [8]

In September 1998, about 2,640 acres of developed property were transferred to the Town of Riverhead for redevelopment on the condition it be used for economic development to replace thousands of well-paid jobs and tax base lost by the Grumman closure (Enterprise Park, EPCAL). [4] The airport has since been developed into Calverton Executive Airpark.

Environmental contamination

In the mid-1980s, the Navy and Grumman knew, that their operations on the site had contaminated groundwater, according to court documents of an insurance case between Northrop Grumman and its liability insurance companies. [9] As of 2022, heavy metals, PCBs and other Semi-Volatile Organic Compound, pesticides, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contaminate soil and groundwater, and impacting indoor air from groundwater vapor intrusion to some extent. Importantly, the site is located above the Long Island groundwater aquifer, the sole source of drinking water for Long Island. The contaminated groundwater is leaching into adjacent surface waters and their bottom sediments. There is evidence that groundwater contamination has migrated off-site to the South: from sites 6A, a site called Old Fuel Calibration where in 1987, a groundwater recovery unit was installed and from 10B (Engine Test House, drainage swale and culvert) where from the late 1980s to the early 1990s, groundwater from Site 6A was discharged. [3]

Water supply wells are not used for drinking water, but irrigation. Recent hydrogeologic investigations have demonstrated that the contaminated groundwater migrates towards the Peconic River. [3]

In 1999, about 2,935 acres of undeveloped land from the site were transferred to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) for wildlife management, and 140 acres were transferred to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for expansion of the Calverton National Cemetery. As of 2022, the remaining 358 acres (five separate parcels) are still owned by the U.S. Navy, and are being cleaned up. [3]

Since April 28, 1998, the Calverton Restoration Advisory Board has been overseeing the Navy cleanup, [9] including at Enterprise Park (EPCAL). As of June 2021, the Department of the Navy admitted on-site groundwater and soil contamination with PFAS and was "undertaking a comprehensive strategy to address releases of PFAS from Navy facilities like NWIRP", [10] but denied responsibility for off-site groundwater pollution. When PFAs detected in 15% of the private residential wells south of the site were above New York's maximum contaminant levels, Navy maintained it was not bound by the state's limits, since there were no federal limits yet. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calverton, New York</span> Hamlet and census-designated place in New York, United States

Calverton is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) on eastern Long Island in Suffolk County, New York, United States. The population was 6,510 at the 2010 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grumman</span> 1929–1994 aerospace manufacturer

The Grumman Aircraft Engineering Corporation, later Grumman Aerospace Corporation, was a 20th century American producer of military and civilian aircraft. Founded on December 6, 1929, by Leroy Grumman and his business partners, it merged in 1994 with Northrop Corporation to form Northrop Grumman.

TRW Inc., was an American corporation involved in a variety of businesses, mainly aerospace, electronics, automotive, and credit reporting. It was a pioneer in multiple fields including electronic components, integrated circuits, computers, software and systems engineering. TRW built many spacecraft, including Pioneer 1, Pioneer 10, and several space-based observatories. It was #57 on the 1986 Fortune 500 list, and had 122,258 employees. The company was called Thompson Ramo Wooldridge Inc., after the 1958 merger of the Ramo-Wooldridge Corporation and Thompson Products. This was later shortened to TRW.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Riverhead, New York</span> Town in New York, United States

Riverhead is a town in Suffolk County, New York, United States, on the north shore of Long Island. Since 1727, Riverhead has been the county seat of Suffolk County, though most county offices are in Hauppauge. As of the 2020 census, the population was 35,902. The town rests on the mouth of the Peconic River, from which it derives its name. The smaller hamlet of Riverhead lies within it, and is the town's principal economic center. The town is 166 miles (267 km) southwest of Boston via the Orient Point-New London Ferry, and is 76 miles (123 km) northeast of New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Station Newport</span> US Navy base in Rhode Island

Naval Station Newport is a United States Navy base located in the city of Newport and the town of Middletown, Rhode Island. Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College and the Naval Justice School. It once was the homeport for Cruiser Destroyer Force Atlantic (COMCRUDESLANT), which relocated to Naval Station Norfolk in the early 1970s. In 1989 the base was added to the National Priorities List, after contamination had been discovered years earlier. Newport now maintains inactive ships at its pier facilities, along with the United States Coast Guard and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessels. In BRAC 2005, NAVSTA Newport gained over five hundred billets, in addition to receiving, again, the Officer Candidate School (OCS), the Naval Supply Corps School, and several other activities, to include a few Army Reserve units.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Fork (Long Island)</span> Peninsula on Long Island, New York, United States

The North Fork is a 30-mile- (48 km) long peninsula in the northeast part of Suffolk County, New York, U.S., roughly parallel with a longer peninsula known as the South Fork, both on the East End of Long Island. Although the peninsula begins east of Riverhead hamlet, the term North Fork can also refer collectively to the towns of Riverhead and Southold in their entirety.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Naval Air Station Patuxent River</span> Military naval air station and flight test centre in Maryland, United States

Naval Air Station Patuxent River, also known as NAS Pax River, is a United States naval air station located in St. Mary’s County, Maryland, on the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patuxent River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">United States Navy in Vieques, Puerto Rico</span> U.S. naval facility located on the island of Vieques

The Vieques, Puerto Rico, Naval Training Range was a United States naval facility located on the island of Vieques, about 5 miles east of mainland Puerto Rico. Starting in November 1941, the navy used the range for military exercises. Military operations ended in 2001, with the Navy completely leaving the area in 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calverton Executive Airpark</span> Airport in Calverton, New York

Calverton Executive Airpark also known as Peconic River Airport and Enterprise Park at Calverton (EPCAL) was a public-owned private-use airport located three miles (5 km) west of the central business district of the Calverton hamlet, in the Town of Riverhead, Suffolk County, New York, United States. It is owned by the Town of Riverhead.

Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Bedford (NWIRP) was a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) facility which had the mission of designing, fabricating, and testing prototype weapons and equipment from 1952 until December 2000, located in Bedford, Massachusetts It is located just north of Hanscom Air Force Base. It is currently a Superfund site undergoing environmental cleanup. NWIRP was divided into 4 sites, two in the northern section and two in the southern section.

The Oakdale Dump is an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site located in Oakdale, Minnesota, and comprises three non-contiguous properties that were used for dumping from the late 1940s until the 1950s by the 3M corporation. The properties are named the Abresch, Brockman, and Eberle sites for their respective property owners at the time of disposal activities. The Abresch site is the largest of the three properties at about 55 acres. The Brockman site is located immediately southwest of the Abresch site and encompasses 5 acres. The Eberle site is located roughly 2,500 feet north of the Abresch site and encompasses 2 acres.

Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant, Bethpage (NWIRP) – also known as Northrop Grumman Site Facility – was a United States government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) facility established in 1941, with the mission to design, fabricate, and test prototype aircraft for the United States Navy and NASA in the hamlet of Bethpage within the Town of Oyster Bay, in Nassau County, New York, United States.

The Nebraska Ordnance Plant is a former United States Army ammunition plant located approximately ½ mile south of Mead, Nebraska and 30 miles west of Omaha, Nebraska in Saunders County. It originally extended across 17,250 acres (69.8 km2) producing weapons from 1942-45 after which the Army used it as a bomb factory during the Vietnam War. Environmental investigations in the 1980's found the soil and groundwater contaminated with the explosive RDX and the degreaser trichloroethylene. In 1990, federal agencies added the site to the National Priorities List as a Superfund site. Remediation included soil excavation and water treatment, the latter of which has been ongoing since 1997. Water is contained and treated at 4 treatment plants and the known plumes are monitored at hundreds of wells. The latest wells, dug deeper into the bedrock than previously, showed RDX and TCE above desired action levels in April 2016.

The Dewey Loeffel Landfill is an EPA superfund site located in Rensselaer County, New York. In the 1950s and 1960s, several companies including General Electric, Bendix Corporation and Schenectady Chemicals used the site as a disposal facility for more than 46,000 tons of industrial hazardous wastes, including solvents, waste oils, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), scrap materials, sludges and solids. Some hazardous substances, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and PCBs, have migrated from the facility to underlying aquifers and downstream surface water bodies, resulting in contamination of groundwater, surface water, sediments and several species of fish. There is currently a ban on fish consumption in Nassau Lake and the impacted tributaries. Following prior assessments and attempts at mitigating drainage from the site, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has placed the site on its National Priority List. As of 2024, the EPA reports ongoing site investigations.

Bog Creek Farm, located in Howell Township, New Jersey, is a designated Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Superfund site. Lying on 12 acres of land, Bog Creek Farm is home to several hazardous and life-threatening contamination beginning in 1973 and continuing for a year. Over a decade later, actions began to take place to clean and restore the contaminated soil and water. Bog Creek Farm is situated near several other farms that house horses, growing crops and flowers, and livestock. Less than a mile down the road lies Allaire State Park, a park used by golfers, hunters, and fisherman.

The Pohatcong Valley Groundwater Contamination superfund site is located in Warren County, Franklin Township, Washington Township, and Washington Borough in New Jersey. It was recognized in the 1970s but not designated into the National Priorities List until 1989. It is a contamination of the Kittany Limestone Aquifer underlying the Pohatcong Valley. This toxic site stretches across 9,800 acres of land. The chemicals that are polluting the groundwater and soil are trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE). If someone were to be exposed to these harmful toxins for a short amount of time it can result in unconsciousness. Long term effects unfortunately include liver and kidney problems. The plans to clean up this superfund site are costing the companies involved, Pechiney Public Packaging Inc., Bristol Meyers Squibb Company, Albea Americas Inc, and Citigroup Inc, about $92 million, and the situation still has not been completely resolved.

Lawrence Aviation Industries, Inc. was an aircraft parts manufacturer that made titanium parts for military aircraft, such as the Grumman F-14 fighter jet. The former owner of the company, Gerald Cohen, was sentenced to one year and a day in prison and ordered to pay $105,816 in restitution for illegally storing more than 12 tons of hazardous waste on the company's grounds. The former site of the company, in the hamlet of Port Jefferson Station, Town of Brookhaven, New York, is one of the most contaminated sites on Long Island and may be responsible for a toxic groundwater plume in the region. The site is bounded by the Long Island Railroad tracks and Sheep Pasture Road to the north. A Long Island Power Authority easement runs along the southern edge of the property, separating the site from a residential area. To the east and west are residential areas.

A Restoration Advisory Board or RAB is a group, which meets on a regular basis to discuss environmental restoration at a US military installation currently or formerly used and owned by the US Department of Defense (DoD). These developed in the 1990s when DOD locally and nationally engaged people from communities impacted by military contamination. As of 2015, there were 229 RABs on 250 installations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grumman Bethpage Airport</span> Airport in New York, U.S.

GrummanBethpage Airport – also known as Grumman Airport, Bethpage Airport, and Grumman Field – was an airport located in Bethpage within the Town of Oyster Bay, in Nassau County, on Long Island, New York, United States.

References

  1. ↑ Airport information for Calverton Executive Airpark (IATA:CTO, FAA:3C8) at Great Circle Mapper.
  2. ↑ FAA Airport Form 5010 for 3C8 PDF , effective 2007-10-25
  3. 1 2 3 4 US EPA, OLEM (2017-08-18). "Hazardous Waste Cleanup: Naval Weapons Industrial Reserve Plant in Calverton, New York". www.epa.gov. Retrieved 2022-08-05.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  4. 1 2 "Riverhead IDA: Enterprise Park (EPCAL)". www.riverheadida.org. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  5. ↑ TopoZone.com map. Retrieved 2007-11-09.
  6. ↑ Grumman Memorial Park
  7. ↑ Shaman, Diana (February 25, 1996). "Planners Ponder 2,900-Acre Northrop Grumman Site". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-08-02.
  8. ↑ Tyrrell, Joie (July 15, 2011). "TWA Flight 800 wreckage is still studied". Newsday.
  9. 1 2 3 Civiletti, Denise (2021-06-10). "Navy, under fire for groundwater pollution in Manorville, may use unpublicized survey to justify dissolving Grumman cleanup advisory board". RiverheadLOCAL. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  10. ↑ Tim Gannon (2021-06-28). "Will EPCAL contamination spread east? Manorville resident says 'everybody will be affected'". Riverhead News. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.