Fort George G. Meade is a 5,067-acre U.S. Army installation in Anne Arundel County, Maryland. It has been on EPA's Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) since July 1998. Past military operations going back to 1917, including infantry training, tank operations, and ordnance handling, left behind contamination in soil and groundwater across the installation.
Contaminants found at the site include lead, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) like trichloroethene and tetrachloroethene, benzene, arsenic, metals, pesticides such as chlordane and heptachlor, explosives including TNT (2,4,6-trinitrotoluene) and RDX, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) like benzo[a]pyrene. The Army is also investigating per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), specifically PFOA (perfluorooctanoic acid) and PFOS (perfluorooctane sulfonate), linked to firefighting foam use and chromium plating activities. Groundwater, soil, and soil gas are all affected across different parts of the installation.
The Army leads cleanup work, and EPA oversees it under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The two agencies signed a Federal Facilities Agreement in September 2009 to set a cleanup framework. The site is divided into 25 operable units (OUs), which are distinct zones addressed separately to make cleanup more manageable. Sources differ on the number of OUs with signed Records of Decision, citing either 11 or referencing decision documents for several individual units. Completed remedies include soil excavation at the Former Pesticide Shop and Trap and Skeet Range, removal of munitions and explosives from the High Explosive Impact Area, and land use controls at former landfills and training areas. Several OUs, including those related to PFAS contamination and former maintenance facilities, have not yet received decision documents.
Human exposure is currently under control, meaning no unacceptable exposure pathways exist at this time. However, contaminated groundwater movement has not yet been fully determined. Physical construction of cleanup work is not complete across the entire site, and the site remains on the NPL. The most recent five-year review was completed on September 27, 2021, and the next is scheduled for September 2026. A Site Management Plan is updated annually to track progress.
Community members can get involved through the Public Affairs Office at 301-677-5602. The Administrative Record, which holds project documents and decisions, is available at the Odenton Regional Library at 1325 Annapolis Road, Odenton, Maryland, reachable at 410-222-6277. An August 2021 Community Involvement Plan is also available through those same contacts.
