The objective of this Statement of Need was to improve our ability to mitigate transport of legacy and new munitions constituents from Department of Defense testing and training ranges to off site surface and ground waters. Specific research areas of interest included:

• Determine the fundamental reasons for the persistence of RDX in soil.
• Develop technologies to maximize sorption/biodegradation at the soil surface, and/or minimize transport of the more soluble legacy munitions constituents and insensitive high explosives (IHE) to the subsurface.
• Develop new or improved means to deliver treatment amendments to range soils.
• Determine the fate and transport properties of legacy munitions constituents and IHE in surface runoff and surface water, including sorption, biotransformation, and biodegradation.
• Develop and/or test technologies to treat surface runoff contaminated with legacy munitions constituents, new IHE, and mixtures of legacy and IHE, as well as ionic energetic materials, aluminized formulations, binders/additives, plasticizers, and processing agents.

Proposers were not required to address all of the needs listed in any individual proposal. Research and development activities at laboratory-, bench-, and field-scale were considered as well as computer modeling to support such efforts. Information on a variety of classes of munitions was of interest. The contaminants of primary concern were RDX and perchlorate due to low federal health advisory levels and the ability to migrate quickly through the soil matrix, but HMX, TNT, DNT and their breakdown products also were of interest, as were the new IHE.

To provide strategic guidance for future research and demonstrations on management of munitions constituents, SERDP and ESTCP conducted a workshop on July 28-29, 2015 in Washington, D.C. Reviewing the Workshop Report for additional detail on these research needs was essential prior to submitting a proposal.

Funded projects will appear below as project overviews are posted to the website.

Results from this research will aid in developing robust technologies to mitigate transport of munitions constituents from DoD testing and training ranges, directly supporting their sustainability.

DoD policy requires that all DoD ranges and operating areas be managed in a manner that supports their long-term viability and utility to meet the national defense mission while protecting human health and the environment. Sustaining the future use of operational ranges requires an ongoing awareness and mitigation of the potential transport of munitions constituents to ensure the sustainability of DoD testing and training ranges.

RDX, perchlorate, and some of the newer IHE like NTO dissolve quickly and are very soluble in water. These compounds may pose a risk to groundwater and by extension, surface water. Surface treatments or amendments that can effectively retain and promote the degradation of these compounds are therefore needed now, particularly before the new IHE are more widely used on ranges.

Munitions constituent residues generally can be small enough to be readily transported by storm water runoff over land and into drainage areas, eventually making their way into surface water receptors. Additionally, larger munitions constituent residues can undergo in-place weathering, leading to entrainment and transport of dissolved and particulate munitions constituent during precipitation events. Many areas where detonations occur have sparse vegetation, due to repeated soil disturbance and range management efforts to minimize fires and facilitate UXO clearance; this may lead to reduced chances that the transport of munitions constituents in storm water runoff will be mitigated by vegetation before reaching surface waters.

Impact areas are inherently difficult to treat given the repeated detonations that can move amendments out of the area or destroy them. Some success has been seen at grenade ranges using hydrated lime, but these are already well managed training areas. New techniques will be needed to deliver amendments effectively to more remote ranges with much larger areas.

Workshop participants identified a number of research needs associated with mitigation of transport of munitions constituents. It is essential that proposers view the Workshop Report to obtain additional detail concerning these discussions. 

The cost and time to meet the requirements of this SON are at the discretion of the proposer. Two options are available:

Standard Proposals: These proposals describe a complete research effort. The proposer should incorporate the appropriate time, schedule, and cost requirements to accomplish the scope of work proposed. SERDP projects normally run from two to five years in length and vary considerably in cost consistent with the scope of the effort. It is expected that most proposals will fall into this category.

Limited Scope Proposals: Proposers with innovative approaches to the SON that entail high technical risk or have minimal supporting data may submit a Limited Scope Proposal for funding up to $200,000 and approximately one year in duration. Such proposals may be eligible for follow-on funding if they result in a successful initial project. The objective of these proposals should be to acquire the data necessary to demonstrate proof-of-concept or reduction of risk that will lead to development of a future Standard Proposal. Proposers should submit Limited Scope Proposals in accordance with the SERDP Core Solicitation instructions and deadlines