Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP)

Program Manager
858-577-6702

The Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) was established in 2001 to manage the environmental, health and safety issues presented by UXO, discarded military munitions and munitions constituents. The MMRP is an element of the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP), under which the Secretary of Defense carries out environmental restoration resulting from historical activities. The DERP, through the Installation Restoration Program (IRP), had historically focused on cleaning up sites contaminated with hazardous components, including explosives, but generally has not addressed either UXO or challenges presented by sites containing discarded military munitions and munitions constituents.

The Department of Defense (DoD) established the Military Munitions Response Program to reflect the statutory program goals established for the DERP, to enhance understanding of the nature of munitions response sites, and to manage response activities more effectively. Since the DERP is intended to address environmental problems remaining from past practices, the MMRP does not cover munitions responses for areas that operated after fiscal year 2002.

Important elements of the MMRP are as follows:

• Requires the DoD to establish and maintain an inventory of non-operational ranges that contain or are suspected to contain UXO, discarded military munitions or munitions constituents;
• Establishes the requirement to identify, characterize, track and report data on MMRP sites and response actions;
• Requires a sequencing process to prioritize site cleanup and site-specific cost estimates to complete the response;
• Requires installations to program and budget for MMRP response actions.

• The Federal act that governs the MMRP program is the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA) commonly referred to as “Superfund”.
• See Installation Restoration Program

• MCO P5090.2A USMC Environmental Compliance and Protection Manual

• MRP Site 01 –

      A Grenade Course was first identified on a historical map dated 1941.  The types of munitions that were reportedly used included the following:  grenade fragmentation, MkII; practice grenade, M21; and training grenade, MkIA1. If this location were used as a Grenade Course, use would have stopped by 1944 when the railroad spurs were first seen in this area.  No remnants of a grenade course were detected on any aerial photos.  Preliminary Assessment was completed in September of 2007.

• MRP Site 02 –

      The Shot Gun Range 1950 was first identified on a historical map dated 1946.  A document found during research revealed that an outdoor skeet range and a shotgun sighting range were established in 1943 at the Naval Auxiliary Air Station, Camp Kearny (11^th Naval District 1945).  The shotgun range is detected on aerial photos dated 1947 through 1949 and 1957.  Only remnants of the range are detected on the 1957 photos.  The type of munitions employed was from 12-gage shotgun shells.  The range was probably used between 1943 and 1950.  Preliminary Assessment was completed in September of 2007. 

• MRP Site 03 –

      The Skeet Range 1950 was first identified on a historical map dated 1946.  A document found during research revealed that an outdoor skeet range and a shotgun sighting range were established in 1943 at the Naval Auxiliary Air Station, Camp Kearny (11^th Naval District 1945).  The skeet range is seen on aerial photos dated 1944 through 1949, 1952, and 1957.  However, by 1957, only remnants of the range and five (5) building are seen.  The type of munitions employed was from 12-gage shotgun shells.  The range was probably used between 1943 and 1950.  Preliminary Assessment was completed in September of 2007. 

• MRP Site 05 –

      The San Diego Skeet Range 1980 was identified on a historical map dated 1973.  Based on aerial photo interpretation, the range was not constructed in 1957 but was in use by 1964.  There were four (4) large and four (4) small firing positions.  The range appears to be in use in 1971 and 1980.  However, by 1980, only half of the farthest west firing position is visible and by 1994, none of this firing position is visible.  The range was covered with vegetation by 1996.  The type of munitions employed was 12-gage shotgun shells.  The range was probably used for approximately twenty (20) years between 1964 and c1980’s.  Preliminary Assessment was completed in September of 2007. 

• MRP Site 06 –

      Pistol Ranges 5-7, located north of historical Camp Kearny cantonment, were identified on a historical map dated 1918 and listed in a report dated August 5, 1918 concerning the facilities at Camp Kearny.  Interpretation of aerial photos dated 1928 did not uncover any signs of a range in this area.  The type of munitions employed was from .45 caliber cartridges.  These ranges were probably used approximately two and a half years, between 1917 and mid-1920.  Preliminary Assessment was completed in September of 2007. 

• MRP Site 07 –

      Rifle Ranges 2 and 3 are located just north of historical Camp Kearny cantonment.  A report dated August 5, 1918 concerning the facilities at Camp Kearny identified Ranges 2 and 3 on a historical map dated 1918 as “Mid Range – 34 Targets” and “Long Range – 5 Targets”, respectively.  Range 2 had two (2) firing lines (500- and 600-yd) and a target area with 34 targets.  Likewise, Range 3 had two (2) firing lines (800- and 1000-yd), and a target area with 5 targets.  Firing for both ranges was from the south to the north.  The target areas both fall outside the installation’s boundaries, and the locations of the two (2) firing lines are on the installation’s Golf Course.  The type of munitions employed was from .30 caliber cartridges.  These ranges were probably used approximately two and a half years, between 1917 and mid-1920.  Preliminary Assessment was completed in September of 2007. 

• MRP Site  08 –

      Pistol Range 12, located south of the eastern side of historical Camp Kearny cantonment, was identified on a historical map dated 1918 and listed in a report dated August 5, 1918 concerning the facilities at Camp Kearny.  No remnants off this range are seen on aerial photos dated 1928 or 1949.  The type of munitions employed was from .45 caliber cartridges.  These ranges were probably used approximately two and a half years, between 1917 and mid-1920.  Preliminary Assessment was completed in September of 2007. 

• MRP Site 09 –

      Pistol Range 13, located south of the eastern side of historical Camp Kearny cantonment, was identified on a historical map dated 1918 and listed in a report dated August 5, 1918 concerning the facilities at Camp Kearny.  No remnants off this range are seen on aerial photos dated 1928 or 1949.  The type of munitions employed was from .45 caliber cartridges.  These ranges were probably used approximately two and a half years, between 1917 and mid-1920.  Preliminary Assessment was completed in September of 2007. 

• MRP Site 010 –

      Pistol Ranges 9-11, located south of historical Camp Kearny cantonment and on the northern boundary of a privately owned parcel of land (Sim J. Harris Co.) used for sand and gravel extraction, were identified on a historical map dated 1918 and listed in a report dated August 5, 1918 concerning the facilities at Camp Kearny.  A cutout in the canyon wall, which was used as a backstop, is still visible on aerial photos dated 1949.  The type of munitions employed was from .45 caliber cartridges.  These ranges were probably used approximately two and a half years, between 1917 and mid-1920.  Preliminary Assessment was completed in September of 2007

• MRP Site 012 –

      The Bomb Target (Kearny Field) was identified on a historical map dated 1940 (La Jolla Quad Sheet) and detected on an aerial photo data 1942.  In 1941, recommendations to the Navy included that they extend the runway and acquire additional land north of the field for the relocation of the Dive Bombing Target at Miramar (U.S. Naval Air Station San Diego 1941).  The types of munitions employed were practice bombs (100-lb, 500-lb, and miniature).  This target was probably used prior to 1940 until 1941/1942.  Preliminary Assessment was completed in September of 2007.  

• MRP Site 013 –

The Bore Sight Range was first identified on a historical map, which showed conditions of MCAS Miramar on June 30, 1946.  It was also identified on later maps, dated 1968 and 1978.  However, the range on the 1978 map was located north of the previously identified bore sight range.  Only the first location, given in Table 1, was identified on aerial photos.  The map dated 1968 was titled “Aircraft Boresight Range Project.”  This tunneled bore sight range opened on September 5, 1969.  It was twenty (20) feet high, forty (40) feet wide, and 1000 feet long, opened on one end and a  sand embankment (to absorb projectiles fired from aircraft) was on the other end (Command History 1969).  The types of munitions employed were cartridges (.50 caliber cartridge, ball; 20mm caliber, ball).  The tunneled range was used from September 5, 1969 until recently; and the outdoor range was probably used between late 1946 and 1968.  Preliminary Assessment was completed in September of 2007.