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Selfridge Air National Guard Base (ANGB) (Harrison Township, Macomb County)

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Please contact the Site Lead for the most up-to-date status of this site.

EGLE site lead

Christina Hebert, HebertC3@Michigan.gov, 517-282-6092

Background

The Selfridge Air National Guard Base (Selfridge ANGB) is an Air National Guard installation located in Harrison Township near Mount Clemens. The host organization is the Michigan Air National Guard, but a variety of Air Force Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Army Reserve, Army National Guard, and Coast Guard units use the facility as well. In 1971, Selfridge ANGB became the largest and most complex joint Reserves Forces base in the United States, a position it held until the late 1990's.

The property the base is built on began to be developed in 1916. Due to its operational history, personnel of the Selfridge ANGB have engaged in various activities which required the use, dispensing of, and storage of Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF). Throughout the past, AFFF may have entered the environment through cumulative effects of the operations documented at the Selfridge ANGB's flight line and industrial area. A few areas of note include:

  • Fire Training Area #2 (also known as Installation Restoration Program (IRP) Site 2): Four acres of land northwest of Taxiway C in the southwest part of the base used to practice fire-fighting activities. This area was an unlined pit, excavated to a depth of 1 to 1.5 feet below ground surface and filled with flammable debris. It was used for 8 to 12 fires per year beginning in 1964 and continuing until December 1989. Remedial activities for other contaminants in the soil were conducted in 2004.
  • Building 1422 - Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Hangar: This building was constructed in 1985 and used by the DHS for aircraft maintenance and storage. Building 1422, like many aircraft hangars, is equipped with an AFFF Fire Suppression System. Trench drains located throughout the hangar floor discharge to the sanitary sewer system through an oil/water separator. As of March 2016, no known releases of AFFF have occurred at Building 1422.
  • Building 33 - Fire Department: This building was used as the fire department at the base from 1951-2001 when the current fire department was constructed. Building 33 was demolished prior to 2006. A report in 2016 noted that AFFF was stored in 55-gallon drums, pails, and firefighting vehicles. The report also noted that floor drains in the former building lead to the stormwater system and a drainage basin. As of 2016, no releases of AFFF were known to have been reported at Building 33.

Surface waters on the base are not used for recreational activities. Lake St. Clair is used for recreational activities such as boating and fishing. There is also a state-protected wetland located adjacent to the southeast corner of the base.

Natural draining on the base is generally to the east, ultimately into Lake St. Clair. Groundwater generally flows east across the base to lake St. Clair but is influenced by fluctuations based on seasonal variations in precipitation and water level fluctuations in Lake St. Clair and the Clinton River. There is currently a fish consumption advisory due to PFOS on Lake St. Clair.

Due to its operational history, personnel of the Selfridge ANGB have engaged in various activities which required the use, dispensing, and storage of Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF).

Content posted April 2020.

Site map

See an aerial view of the location of the site.

Expand the map

Drinking water

There are no known impacts to drinking water. There are some residential wells in a 1-mile radius around the base and these have all been tested by EGLE staff in 2018. All results were non-detect for PFAS. For additional information on residential well testing and results, visit the Frequently Asked Questions. There are no drinking water wells on the base. Drinking water on the base comes from the city of Mt. Clemens EGLE has sampled all municipal water supplies for PFAS. View the results for the city of Mt. Clemens.

Anticipated activities

EGLE expects Selfridge ANGB to continue implementation of the GAC Interim Control Measures. Field sampling on-site will continue through August 2020. Selfridge ANGB (AECOM) will inform EGLE on a monthly basis with results of the Interim Control Measures. Selfridge ANGB (AECOM) has indicated that interim treatment of PFAS will continue at least thru August 2020. EGLE and SANGB will be reviewing the SWPS study results for potential locations of additional ICM actions in the Storm Water conveyance system.

Historical timeline