The Heritage Disposal and Storage site encompasses 27
magazines (also referred to as bunkers) near Alda, Hall County, Nebraska. The
site formerly operated as a commercial business that recycled fireworks and
munitions into fertilizer. Business operations ceased in 2010 and the business
declared bankruptcy in 2019. A Removal Site Evaluation performed in November
2022 documented materials in a degraded state and noted that ongoing
maintenance was not being performed on the bunkers and the 1.77 million pounds
of explosive materials stored at the site at that time.
EPA conducted Time-Critical Removal Action activities at the
site from October 2023 through February 2025. Initially, removal activities
involved the stabilization of explosive and energetic materials to address
their degraded condition. During the stabilization activities, it was noted
that some of the materials and their storage containers were in an advanced
state of deterioration and presented an increased risk of release and
explosion. A priority list, based on storage condition and material characteristics,
of the explosive materials to be addressed during subsequent removal activities
was developed. Additional removal activities were conducted from April 2024
through January 2025 to address those priority materials. Those activities
involved the offsite disposal of small arms ammunition, mortar candles,
detonation cord, and facility-related chemicals, as well as, the onsite thermal
destruction of ammonium nitrate, propellant, and pentaerythritol
tetranitrate.
This EPA-lead Non-Time-Critical Removal Action is to address
the approximate 1,255,000 pounds of explosive and energetic materials that
remain at the site. This will include onsite thermal destruction of fireworks
and propellant. Onsite activity is scheduled to begin in July 2025.
