The Military Munitions Response Program was established by Congress under the Defense Environmental Restoration Program to address unexploded ordnance or UXO, discarded military munitions, and munitions constituents potentially present on former military installations.

This program was developed to manage the environmental, health, and safety issues presented by unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions and munitions constituents. Along with meeting the statutory goals of the Defense Environmental Restoration Program, the Military Munitions Response Program is designed to enhance understanding of the nature of munitions response sites and manage response activities more effectively.

The Army has completed the range and site inventory. Identified ranges and sites have been evaluated to determine their eligibility for the Military Munitions Response Program, and site-specific data elements have been entered into a comprehensive site tracking and management database.

This inventory fulfilled the requirement of a Preliminary Assessment under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, also referred to as CERCLA.

The second step under CERCLA is the site inspection. The Military Munitions Response Program site inspection program for active or former installations is a comprehensive effort to collect historical range and site use information, along with unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, and munitions constituents release data for all eligible sites.

The site inspection phase will collect information to determine if additional actions are required at each site and what they are (further study, immediate response action or no further action). The data also allows the Army to refine costs and prioritization for each site.

The Military Munitions Response Program coordinates site inspections with all stakeholders (Environmental Protection Agency, states, tribes, Restoration Advisory Boards and landowners) throughout the project. Key milestones include completing a historical records review document, a site inspection work plan for field efforts and a final report.

Recommendations in the Site Inspection Report generally include one or more of the following: (1) further investigation; (2) immediate interim action; or (3) no further action. If discarded military munitions or unexploded ordnance were found during the site inspection in areas where they pose an immediate explosive safety hazard to residents or workers, the site is recommended for an interim action, either a Time Critical Removal Action or a Non-Time Critical Removal Action.

These actions usually involve fencing off the hazard or removing the explosive items causing the immediate hazard. Following the interim action, sites generally move into further investigation to complete all actions outlined in CERCLA.

Under CERCLA, the step after the site inspection is the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study. During the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study, detailed information is obtained about the site to allow the Army and stakeholders to recommend an appropriate remedy for the site.

Following implementation of the remedy, most sites that had unexploded ordnance or discarded military munitions will require land use controls because no current technologies have been proven 100 percent effective at removing munitions.