Environmental and Munitions Center of Expertise - Military Munitions Response Program

Division Chief: 256-895-1334

Huntsville Center
Published Sept. 9, 2016
Updated: Sept. 19, 2022

The Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) is a program category under DoD’s Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) establishing rules and guidelines for the purpose of identifying eligible properties and setting aside funding specifically to address properties posing human health and environmental risks due to the presence of military munitions. 

The Environmental and Munitions Center of Expertise (EM CX) assists all DoD services and USACE organizational elements in performing their military munitions response related activities by maintaining state-of-the-art technical expertise for all aspects of response activities involving military munitions and providing MMRP specific training.   The EM CX is a leader in the development and implementation of key technologies that improve safety, decrease cost, and attain DoD cleanup goals more efficiently. The EM CX does not execute response actions for programs or projects but assists USACE project delivery teams and our customers at all levels with their program and project execution.

Examples of Military Munitions include the following:

  • Bombs
  • Land mines and grenades
  • Artillery, rockets and mortars
  • Guided missiles and torpedoes
  • Bulk explosives, propellants, depth charges
  • Chemical Warfare Materiel (CWM) and certain Chemical Agent Identification Sets (CAIS)

Customers include:

  • Formerly Used Defense Sites (FUDS)
  • Superfund and other non-FUDS
  • Ordnance support for construction sites and range maintenance activities
  • Ordnance support for hazardous, toxic or radioactive waste (HTRW) actions
  • Installation Restoration Program/Base Realignment and Closure (IRP/BRAC)
  • Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program and Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (SERDP/ESTCP)

Primary functions and responsibilities of the EM CX:

  • Maintain technical expertise and competencies to sustain the USACE environmental community of practice
  • Conduct mandatory independent technical review for quality assurance of key project documents and others as requested
  • Approve project specific explosives safety plans
  • Promote effective risk communication as a means of facilitating assessment and management of munitions hazards
  • Promote the implementation and use of Advanced Geophysical Classification (e.g. MetalMapper2x2, TEMSENSE, UltraTEM, etc) processes to reduce response action costs
  • Draft guidance, policy, and regulations as requested
  • Develop and present munitions and explosives safety related training
  • Advise and assist on public outreach initiatives
  • Conduct training and mentoring on MMRP policies, regulations, guidance and procedures
  • Coordinate technical and policy issues with HQUSACE and Department of the Army safety community
  • Partner with academia, research, and national professional organizations to share information and technology
  • Develop and evaluate risk models
  • Perform assistance visits to ensure site specific safety procedures are being executed in accordance with approved documents
  • Conduct or assist in program and project quality assurance audits
  • Monitor and influence research and development programs to support USACE MMRP missions
  • Evaluate innovative technologies for use in MMRP response activities and develop implementing guidance as requested
  • Provide MMRP technical support to any USACE office conducting construction or HTRW operations in areas where military munitions are known or suspected to exist
  • Coordinate and partner with other DOD and DA agencies, USACE activities, and state and federal regulators and stakeholders
  • Conduct and assist in investigation of munitions-related accidents and incidents 

 

Fact sheet thumbnailDownload the MMRP fact sheet (PDF):

Military Munitions Response Program

(as of September 2022)