The former Fort Huachuca, Charleston Maneuver Area Munitions Response Site (MRS) is located in Cochise County, Arizona. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is monitoring the Charleston Maneuver Area MRS through the Formerly Used Defense Sites, or FUDS, Program for munitions and explosive hazards that may remain from previous military training activities.
Originally, Charleston was occupied from 1879 to 1889 by mill workers from Millville, which is located east the San Pedro River. The Army improved the Charleston ruins after leasing 3,219.92 acres of land from the Boquillas Land and Cattle Company in 1943. This enabled troops at Fort Huachuca to practice combat training in an urban-like setting. The Charleston ruins were used for simulated village and street fighting. The Army also built rifle and artillery ranges near the ruins. The Army terminated the lease with the Boquillas Land and Cattle Company in July 1946.
USACE began investigating the former Fort Huachuca in 1999 through the FUDS Program for munitions that may remain from former military training activities. In 2015, USACE completed a Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study at the Charleston Maneuver Area project, which described the extent of munitions that may remain on the site and evaluated potential remedial alternatives to address the potential hazards.
The 2016 Decision Document identified USACE’s selected remedial alternative for MRS01 as Institutional Controls to Protect Current and Future Site Users. In 2019, the implementation of the Institutional Controls was completed and included distribution of educational fact sheets and brochures to area visitor centers and placement of wayside and trailhead signs in the San Pedro Riparian National Conservation Area. USACE will conduct five-year reviews at this MRS to evaluate if the selected remedy remains protective of human health and the environment.