SAVANNAH, Ga. – The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah District, held its first restoration advisory board for the Buxton Formerly Used Defense Sites property April 10, 2025, to establish the rules, purpose, community co-chair and discuss the next steps for the board.
The RAB consists of 11 community members and stakeholder representatives, one community co-chair and one Army Corps of Engineers co-chair, which is Gayle Garland, the project manager for the Buxton FUDS property. Dawson Solutions, LLC., contracted by the Army Corps of Engineers to provide RAB establishment and facilitation support, also had one facilitator, Alyssa Drye, and one public affairs specialist, Emma Kosub.
Before the meeting, the facilitators provided training and explained their role, the RAB’s purpose, expectations for the meetings, members and the co-chair’s roles and responsibilities, membership procedures and frequency of future meetings.
After the training, the meeting officially began with member introductions and the Savannah District Commander, Col. Ron Sturgeon, provided welcoming comments.
“It’s great to be here for the first meeting,” said Sturgeon. “This FUDS property remains a top priority of mine, and that’s why I’m here. This meeting is testimony to the progress we continue to make, and I want to personally thank you for volunteering to be RAB members. And for those who are here in attendance, thank you taking time out of your schedules to join us tonight.”
During the meeting, the operating procedures were approved and the RAB members selected Brian Harris, resident and Buxton Civic Association co-vice president, as the board’s community co-chair. Following the unanimous vote for the community co-chair, the board voted to invite the U.S. Coast Guard to attend the next meeting.
“While the board did agree to invite the Coast Guard to the next meeting, the RAB is intended to address petroleum contamination related to the FUDS program,” said Sara Keisler, Savannah District FUDS Program manager. “A public meeting would be the appropriate forum to collectively talk about all contamination present at the site. The Corps of Engineers will discuss with the stakeholders and the Coast Guard to determine if a public meeting is warranted.”
After discussions about the Coast Guard, Garland provided an update on the property and addressed any questions from RAB members.
“The comprehensive soil and groundwater sampling within the project area will delineate the nature and extent of any petroleum contamination remaining at the FUDS property,” said Garland. “When the final workplan for the sampling is accepted, the fieldwork will begin. Also, the contractors from the response action will return sometime this Spring to reseed the dunes with native plants.”
It was agreed the next meeting will be held July 17, 2025, and the meeting was then opened for questions and comments from the community members who were in attendance.
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