UPDATE - August 2011
Clark County will seek proposals from contractors to resume the cleanup that stalled in 2009 at Camp Bonneville. The county plans to issue a formal “request for proposals” this fall.
The cleanup can resume now that the U.S. Army has agreed to provide an additional $20 million for removing contamination from the 3,840-acre former military post, about six miles north of Camas.
The Board of County Commissioners on Aug. 2 approved two financial agreements with the Army that continue to shield the county from financial responsibility for the cleanup.
One will provide federal dollars to locate and remove munitions of explosive concern. The second will cover cleanup of other hazardous materials, primarily lead-contaminated soil.
In 2006, the county approved an initial funding agreement with the Army that provided $28 million for the cleanup. The county sought additional funding when the nature and cost of the cleanup became far more extensive and expensive than initially estimated.
The $20 million will pay for subsurface clearing of Camp Bonneville’s Central Valley and other work. The county will have to seek more funds from the Army to complete the cleanup.
Commissioner Marc Boldt said the county has been steadfast in protecting community interests.
“We said the county wouldn’t take on liability and wouldn’t open the park until the site was cleaned,” Boldt said. “That was our position in 2006, and it remains so today.”
 Please – no trespassing.
For more than a decade, Clark County consistently has said Camp Bonneville will not open for public use until the property is safe.
For this reason, Camp Bonneville remains closed. A perimeter fence surrounds the site because of the danger posed by unexploded ordnance after decades of military training. Hundreds of munitions of explosive concern have been located and detonated, but an unknown number remain.
Warning signs have been placed at gates, along the perimeter fence and at various spots inside the site. These signs mean precisely what they say. For your own safety, please do not trespass on this property.
Background on Camp Bonneville and cleanup
Camp Bonneville is located in southeastern Clark County, Washington, about 12 miles east of Vancouver and seven miles north of the Columbia River. It was established in 1909 as a drill field and rifle range for Vancouver Barracks and has been used primarily as a training camp for various branches of the military. The property is largely undeveloped; more than half of its six square miles is forested.
Since the U.S. Army closed Camp Bonneville in 1995, the 3,840-acre property has captured the imagination of hikers, equestrians, parks planners, wildlife enthusiasts, campers, Native American groups and many others.
After the Army closed the facility along with several others nationwide, the property was selected for transfer and reuse by the Base Realignment and Closure Commission (BRAC). On October 3, 2006, after ten years of dialog and negotiation with the Army and the state Department of Ecology, the Board of Clark County Commissioners accepted transfer of property ownership from the Army to the county. The county then transferred ownership to the Bonneville Conservation Restoration & Renewal Team LLC (BCRRT), an organization that for several years managed a team of contractors with expertise in removing hazardous waste and unexploded ordnance.
The cleanup has been and will continue to be performed to specifications set by the Washington State Department of Ecology. The Army initially agreed to provide $28 million to pay for the cleanup and related insurance and recently agreed to provide another $20 million to pay for a cleanup that is far more expensive than earlier estimates.
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