Please contact the Site Lead for the most up-to-date status of this site.
Amy Handley, HandleyA@Michigan.gov, or 517-898-3356.
Wurtsmith Air Force Base, Oscoda, Michigan, served primarily as a combat crew and bomber training base throughout its 70-year history. Since its establishment in 1923, Wurtsmith played an important role in World War II, Vietnam, and the Persian Gulf War, hosting the 134th Army Air Force Base Fighter Unit and 379th Bombardment Wing, respectively.
Wurtsmith was selected for closure under the 1991 Base Realignment and Closure decision and was officially closed on June 30, 1993. Most of the acreage of the former base has been transferred for reuse. Under Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC), the United States Air Force (Air Force) is responsible for investigating and if necessary, addressing any environmental contamination caused by the Air Force while operating Wurtsmith and has invested in over $85 million in cleanup actions.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) became aware of PFAS concentrations in groundwater in March 2010 when EGLE staff performed sampling at a former fire training area on the former base.
Recurring actions
View an aerial image with the boundary of the base outlined.
MDHHS is offering drinking water well retesting to Oscoda-area residents whose wells were previously tested for PFAS or who were offered drinking water filters, or both. There is no charge for the testing. MDHHS has contacted these residents by letter and by phone to schedule water collection appointments. Seasonal residents who are away for the winter can schedule an appointment later. The goal of the repeat testing is to determine if PFAS is in residential wells; if so, the amount of PFAS; and whether the amount is increasing, decreasing, or remaining the same over time. MDHHS will be retesting these drinking water wells in coordination and District Health Department No. 2.
Residents who have questions about this PFAS testing effort or who would like to schedule an appointment can call the MDHHS Environmental Health Hotline at 800-648-6942.
More information on residential well sampling is included in the Oscoda Area MPART site page.
Air Force has completed the PFAS Preliminary Assessment, Site Inspection, and is currently completing the Remedial Investigation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. Air Force has provided alternate water for a residential well with detections above the U.S Environmental Protection Agency Lifetime Health Advisory (70 ppt PFOS+PFOA).
Air Force is currently treating PFAS contaminated groundwater at the FT002 pump and treat system (PTS), and the discharge from the Arrow and Benzene extraction wells at the Central Treatment System (CTS) and the discharge of the Mission Street PTS. Air Force has completed a Time Critical Removal Action in 2021 to remove some of the PFAS contaminated soil at FT002.
The Air Force implemented two interim remedial actions (IRAs) to expand the treatment of PFAS contaminated groundwater at the FT002 PTS and the CTS. One IRA expanded the capture zone near the FT002 PTS and Clark’s Marsh and the other IRA expanded the CTS to treat contaminated groundwater extracted near Van Etten Lake at Ratliff Park (Air Force Beach). Air Force plans to implement an additional IRA near the Aircraft Alert Area to treat PFAS contaminated groundwater.
The EGLE-approved discharge requirements for the pump and treat systems are the treatment technology-based effluent limitations established to meet the Substantive Requirements of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act 451, Part 31. These effluent limitations were established to ensure the proper operation and maintenance of the treatment systems and are also more restrictive than the Water Quality Values for surface water discharges. Based on monthly effluent monitoring reports Air Force submits to EGLE Water Resources Division, the concentrations of PFOA and PFOS are generally below the effluent limitations established in the Substantive Requirements Documents. Additionally, although the discharges do not need to be protected as drinking water sources and the standards are not discharge requirements, PFOS, PFOA, PFBS, PFHxS, PFHxA, and PFNA in the effluent from both systems are generally below the recently established Michigan MCLs.
Monthly discharge monitoring data from the CTS and FT002 groundwater treatment systems are available in MiEnviro Portal.
The Air Force maintains an online Administrative Record for this site, and it is accessible at the AFCEC Administrative Record site. To view Wurtsmith documents, first click “Continue to Site” on the initial screen, that will launch the record search. On the record search page, select the “BRAC” option, located in the upper left corner of the site. Scroll down the installation list and select “Wurtsmith AFB”. This will pull up a search window for all documents related to Wurtsmith.
Content updated July 2024.
Air Force Wurtsmith Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) Meetings are scheduled quarterly. For more information, visit the Wurtsmith RAB website. Previous meeting materials and recordings can also be found at this site.
The event details are posted on the MPART public meeting calendar.
