The Tri-Service and EPA test locations of the SERDP National Environmental Technology Test Site (NETTS) program were comprised of a network of well-characterized demonstration sites at DoD installations. The goal of this SERDP-funded program was to provide accessible, well-supported field locations for project proof-of-principle tests, applied research, and comparative demonstrations, as well as to facilitate transfer of innovative environmental technologies from research to full-scale use. The SERDP NETTS program was created primarily for DoD, DOE, and EPA users, but the locations also were available to other agencies and the private sector.

Bioreactor installed on demonstration test pad at the base’s Groundwater Treatment Plant

The Naval Base Ventura County (NBVC) Port Hueneme NETTS site was located in Ventura County, northwest of Los Angeles. The objective of this NETTS location was to demonstrate systems for characterizing and remediating soil, sediments, and groundwater contaminated with fuel hydrocarbons and/or waste oil.

The primary contaminants at Port Hueneme consist of diesel, gasoline, waste oil, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE), and benzene, toluene, ethyl benzene, and xylene (BTEX). NETTS infrastructure included a 3.8-acre ex-situ treatment facility with stockpiled contaminated soil. The NEX BTEX and MTBE plume area was available for in-situ and ex-situ projects. A long-term monitoring test site was available on Site 14. That test site had 8 monitoring wells and 37 settlement markers, which were surveyed. Two miles of canals and wetlands adjacent to the Hueneme Harbor were available for sediment projects. On NBVC there are a variety of military industrial operations being conducted (i.e., port, cargo handling, aircraft and civil engineering equipment maintenance, operations, training, etc.) that provided potential test locations for pollution prevention and compliance projects. Many of the industrial and training sites and the harbor and associated canals were available for conducting conservation projects. Technical support from this site to demonstrators included: (1) characterizing and monitoring of contaminants, (2) processing permits, (3) supporting stakeholder involvement, and (4) coordinating technology transfer activities.

The NBVC Port Hueneme NETTS site provided a location to investigate technologies for various environmental projects ranging from applied research and development to full-scale demonstrations. It focused on technologies to characterize or remediate soils, sediment, or groundwater contaminated with fuel hydrocarbons, waste oil, and metals. The below table provides a list of some of the demonstrations that were hosted.  

The NETTS program established test locations at federal facilities for hosting government and private organizations to rigorously test and evaluate new environmental characterization and remediation technologies. The demonstration program at each location was designed to obtain realistic environmental and economic information that may transfer nationwide to support the adoption and use of more cost-effective and high-performance technologies. (Completed – 2007)