HWY 80 E/PO BOX 30059
The former Louisiana Army Ammunition Plant (LAAP) is located near Doyline, Louisiana in Webster and Bossier Parishes. The plant is bounded by US Highway 80 to the north, US Highway 164 to the south, Dorcheat Bayou to the east and by Clarke Bayou to the west. The cities of Shreveport and Bossier City are located approximately 22 miles west of the installation and the towns of Dixie Inn and Minden are located just to the northeast. LAAP was a military installation comprising approximately 14,949 acres of land. In 1941, the U.S. government acquired ownership of the site. LAAP was a U.S. Army Armament, Munitions, and Chemical Command (AMCCOM) installation that was used to load, assemble, and pack ammunition items. Operations began in 1942 with eight ammunition lines and one ammonium nitrate graining plant. Ammunition production ceased in August 1945 at the close of World War II and the facility was placed in a standby status. It was reactivated in February 1951 to support the Korean conflict and all ammunitions loading lines were operational including a metals forging and machining plant area known as the Y-Line Chromic Acid Etching Facility. The Y-Line was used to manufacture 155-mm projectiles. In February 1958, the installation was again placed in standby status. In September 1962, the plant was reactivated in support of the Vietnam war with four production areas used for classified ammunition items. The LAAP installation continued ammunition production for the U. S. military until 1994. In October 1997, the Y-Line facility was leased to Valentech Corporation. The 16 one-acre pink water lagoons known as Area P Lagoons were in active use between 1940 and 1981. During this time, untreated explosives-laden wastewater from industrial operations was collected in concrete sumps at each of the various load line areas, hauled by tanker trucks to Area P, and emptied into the lagoons. After numerous investigations and assessments, it was determined that the nitroaromatic contamination in soils and sediments from the Area P lagoons was a major contributor to the groundwater nitroaromatic contamination. To protect the shallow groundwater below the Area P Lagoons (Operable Unit (OU) 1) from leaching through nitroaromatic contaminated soil into the groundwater, an Interim Remedial Action (IRA) was conducted in 1987 through 1990. Actions at Area P included draining and treating lagoon wastewater, soil excavation, and soil treatment by incineration. Soil in the lagoons and surrounding area was excavated. The IRA resulted in the incineration of 101,929 tons of soil and the treatment of 53,604,490 gallons of wastewater and rain water. The Area P Lagoons and surrounding area, were then backfilled with the incinerated soil, covered with a minimum 2-foot thick cap of compacted clay, and re-vegetated with Bermuda grass. A four-strand barbed wire fence, 4-feet in height, was installed around the cap and is posted with warning signs. In September 1996 following completion of the IRA, a ROD was prepared. The ROD for OU1 determined that no potential human health or ecological risks were associated with the soils and therefore, No Further Action (NFA) was required. The NFA also applied to six other study areas which included LAAP OU2 through 7 (LAAP OU2 Burning Ground No. 5, LAAP OU3 M-4 Waste Water Lagoon, LAAP OU4 Burning Ground No. 8 Landfill, LAAP OU5 Landfill No. 3, LAAP OU6 Oily Waste Landfarm, and LAAP OU7 Burning Ground No. 8 Pink Water Lagoons). These study areas were identified by the USEPA as the Soil/Source OU. The ROD for LAAP OU8, Y-Line Chromic Acid Etching Facility (Y Line) determined that no remedial action was necessary to ensure protection of human health and the environment under an industrial use scenario. As of January 2005, the facility was transferred to the State of Louisiana (now called Camp Minden) and the use of former LAAP areas remain as military/industrial as specified in the RODs, and therefore meet the NFA recommendation. The area surrounding the former LAAP is primarily rural with several small towns located in the near vicinity. Based on the 2004 U.S. Census Bureau population estimates, the town of Minden, approximately 2 miles northeast of the installation has an estimated population of 13, 281 while the closest town, south and immediately adjacent to the facility, is the village of Doyline with a population of approximately 832 people.
361 |
People living within a 1 mile radius |
N/A |
Average Income |
139 |
Occupied homes |
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