Naval Weapons Station

Concord Naval Weapons Station was a military base established in 1942 on the shore of the Sacramento River north of Concord City , California, and expanded into Suisun Bay. The station served as a World War II weapons storage depot, supplying vessels at Port Chicago. This also had a Naval Outlying Field at the southern end of the base during World War II. It ceased to be an operational airfield after World War II. Concord NWS stored and transported thousands of tons of material during the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Gulf War across the Pacific Ocean.

The station consisted of two areas: the Inland Area (5 028 acres (2 035 ha), which lies within Concord’s city limits, and the Tidal Area (7 088 ha). Due to changes in military operations, areas of the Inland Region started to be mothballed, and by 1999 the station had only a small contingent of military personnel and mainly contained empty storage bunkers for munitions, empty warehouses and disused support structures. The U.S. federal government announced it would close the Inland Sector of the Naval base in 2007. The Tidal area of the base had not been scheduled for closure.

Concord’s 5-member City Council, acting as the federally appointed Local Redevelopment Authority, is in the process of formulating a residential and industrial development Reuse Plan for the Inland Area, while reserving about two-thirds for open space and park projects. Town staff are assigned to supervise the project. The Reuse Plan shall be subject to approval by the Navy.

The East Bay Regional Park District will receive 1028 hectares (2.540 acres) of the Inland Area which will be built for public use as Concord Hills Regional Park. The property is to be formally leased in early 2016, after which the property will be ready for public access and recreation.

Superfund cleanup site

The Concord NWS had been listed as a Superfund disposal site on 16 December 1994. 32 Construction areas, including zinc , copper, lead , cadmium and arsenic, as well as semi-volatile organic compounds (SVOC) and organochlorine pesticides, have been reported as contaminated with heavy metals. One area of great concern is the risk to the endangered salt marsh harvest mouse and to the California clapper rail. Land remediation is under way at the base with some areas having drained soil and some being sealed to prevent the spread of pollutants.

Current operations

Site control was altered in 2008. The Inland Area became Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station Detachment awaiting closure. The Tidal Zone was moved into the USA. Army Deployment and Distribution Command (SDDC) and the Concord Military Ocean Terminal (MOTCO) is now known as. This building was also used by the Diablo Squadron and Training Ship Concord of the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps.