Navy Discovery Bay activities 1945 to 1946
| Tracking # |
DON-NAVY-2019-011503, 20-01405 DON-NAVY-2019-011503 |
| Submitted | Sept. 20, 2019 |
| Est. Completion | None |
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Communications
From: Tom Madsen
To Whom It May Concern:
Pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, I hereby request the following records:
BACKGROUND: From around 1945 to 1946, Navy ships were ordered to Port Discovery in Discovery Bay, WA, to await the unloading of ammunition after World War II. The ships arrived to Port Discovery in Discovery Bay around November 1945.
The specific ships were as follows:
Provo Victory (AK-228)
Las Vegas Victory (AK-229)
Manderson Victory (AK-230)
Bedford Victory (AK-231)
Mayfield Victory (AK-232)
Newcastle Victory (AK-233)
Bucyrus Victory (AK-234)
Red Oak Victory (AK-235)
Alamosa (AK-156)
Antigone (AGP-16)
Lassen (AE-3)
Mazama (AE-9)
Pyro (AE-1)
Shasta (AE-6)
Mt. Baker (AE-4)
Autauga (AK-160)
When in Discovery Bay, some or all of these ships dumped or discharged oils, sewage, and other noxious matter into the waters of Discovery Bay which polluted both the waters and the adjacent tide lands. Some of these noxious materials may have been ammunition carried by these ships.
Many, if not all, of these ships left Port Discovery at Discovery Bay in February 1946 and headed to Port Chicago in San Francisco, California, Bangor Naval Ammunition Depot, Bangor, Washington, or elsewhere.
This request seeks information related to these ships during this time period. Please note that while the incident occurred in 1945, this request seeks information, communications, and studies that may have occurred from that date to present.
Please provide:
1. Any cargo manifest, other ship manifest, or other document related to the inventory of the above named ships, or any other ship ordered to Discovery Bay for the dates described above, for the dates of November 1945 to February 1946, especially but not limited to ammunition.
2. Any other documents related to the cargo contained in the above referenced ships, or any other ship ordered to Discovery Bay for the dates described above, from November 1945 to March 1946, especially but not limited to ammunition.
3. Any documents related to the offloading of ammunition or any other cargo or tangible thing, including but not limited to sewage or oil, from the above referenced ships, or any other ship ordered to Discovery Bay for the dates described above, for the dates of November 1945 to March 1946.
4. Any documents relating to the offloading of inventory of the above referenced ships, or any other ship ordered to Discovery Bay for the dates described above, at ammunition depots or other places after the above referenced ships departed from Discovery Bay, including but not limited to Bangor Naval Ammunition Depot, Bangor, Washington and Port Chicago in California, from 1945 to 1950.
5. Please provide any and all studies, reports, field notes, correspondence (both internal and external, including but not limited to correspondence with the EPA or any Washington State governmental agency) regarding the disposal of ammunition or other material into Discovery Bay during the time period described above from 1945 to present.
6. Please provide any and all studies, reports, field notes, correspondence (both internal and external, including but not limited to correspondence with the EPA or any Washington State governmental agency) regarding Discovery Bay from 1945 to present.
The requested documents will be made available to the general public, and this request is not being made for commercial purposes.
In the event that there are fees, I would be grateful if you would inform me of the total charges in advance of fulfilling my request. I would prefer the request filled electronically, by e-mail attachment if available or CD-ROM if not.
Thank you in advance for your anticipated cooperation in this matter. I look forward to receiving your response to this request within 20 business days, as the statute requires.
Sincerely,
Tom Madsen
From: U.S. Navy
This message is to confirm your request submission to the FOIAonline application: View Request. Request information is as follows: (https://www.foiaonline.gov/foiaonline/action/public/submissionDetails?trackingNumber=DON-NAVY-2019-011503&type=request)
* Tracking Number: DON-NAVY-2019-011503
* Requester Name: Tom Madsen
* Date Submitted: 09/23/2019
* Request Status: Submitted
* Description:
Please See attachment for description
From: U.S. Navy
Dear Mr. Madsen:
Your Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request for records about Naval
munition ships, submitted to the Navy FOIA office on September 23, 2019 was
forwarded by that office to the National Archives and Records
Administration (NARA), Office of General Counsel via the *FOIAOnline* website.
We received your request on October 1, 2019.
This office handles FOIA and Privacy Act requests for the National Archives
and Records Administration's *operational *records (records created by this
agency). Because your *FOIAOnline *request is for records that may be
*archival *records (records created by or originated in a different agency
but that may have been transferred to the legal custody of NARA), we have
forwarded it to our *Office of Research Services, Special Access and
FOIA* staff
who handle FOIA requests for archival records.
Since the *Office of Research Services, Special Access and FOIA* does not
process FOIA requests through *FOIAOnline*, your request has been removed
from the *FOIAOnline* website and you will be assigned a new tracking
number by Research Services within the next 20 business days. In the
future, if you need to follow up with that office directly, please contact
them at the address below, or electronically via email.
National Archives and Records Administration
Special Access and FOIA Staff (RD-F)
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740
By phone: 301-837-3190
By fax: 301-837-1864
By email: specialaccess_foia@nara.gov
For your reference, a copy of your request with one attachment is below.
Please visit our website at www.archives.gov/foia for further information
about FOIA. On our main website, www.archives.gov, you can learn more
about the resources we offer to the public, and you can access our online
catalog.
Thank you for contacting the National Archives.
Sincerely,
Susan Gillett
Government Information Specialist
Office of General Counsel
National Archives and Records Administration
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-3409
susan.gillett@nara.gov
---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: <admin@foiaonline.gov>
Date: Wed, Oct 2, 2019 at 10:40 AM
Subject: FOIA Request Deletion: NARA-NGC-2019-000830
To: <susan.gillett@nara.gov>
Below is an export of the submitted request information for the FOIA
request NARA-NGC-2019-000830.
- *Name and Address*
- First Name: Tom
- Middle Initial:
- Last Name: Madsen
- Organization:
- Mailing Address Location: United States/U.S. Territories
- Address Line 1: MuckRock News, DEPT MR 80691
- Address Line 2: 411A Highland Ave
- City: Somerville
- State/Province: MA
- Zip/Postal Code: 02144
- *Contact Information*
- E-mail Address: requests@muckrock.com
- Phone Number:
- Fax Number:
- *Agency and Fee Information*
- Assigned Agency: NGC - Office of General Counsel
- Will Pay Up To: $0.00
- *Description*
- Cargo Naval Munition Manifests
- *Fee Waiver*
- Fee Waiver Requested: No
- Fee Waiver Reason:
- *Expedited Processing*
- Expedited Processing Requested: No
- Expedited Processing Reason:
From: U.S. Navy
Tom Madsen
MuckRock News, Dept. MR 80691
411A Highland Avenue
Somerville, MA 02144
Dear Mr. Madsen,
This is in response to your Freedom of Information Act request dated
October 2, 2019, where you have requested documentation relating to cargo
manifests, the loading and unloading of ship cargo in particular
ammunition, and reports of sewage and oil leaks from several US Navy
vessels during the 1945-46 period at Discovery Bay, WA and any
environmental reports and field notes by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) or any State of Washington agency. Your request was received
by the Reference Branch (RDT2) on October 8, 2019 with the assigned FOIA
case number 20-01405.
We have searched the various collections within Record Group 24: Records of
the Bureau of Naval Personnel, Record Group 74: Records of the Bureau of
Ordnance, and Record Group 412: Records of the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA), and we were unable to locate the records you have requested.
According the Navy’s Records Management Manual (SECNAV 5210.1), under
Standard Subject Identification Codes (SSICs) 3800.7: General Intelligence
Records, Vessel Files. Records; 4610: Shipments (Cargo and Freight)
Records; 4620: Sea Transportation Records; and 9650: Service Spaces are not
retained as permanent records. These records include boarding reports,
crew lists, bills of lading, cargo manifests, and for trash and sewage
disposal or accidents.
The deck logs of the ships you listed in your request are open and
available for review. The logs might include information regarding
loading, unloading cargo, disposal of trash, and accidents such as spills
or leaks. These are not regular items recorded in a deck log, but
sometimes they appear.
For reports by the EPA, we will need more information or citations. You did
not provide enough information for us to reference these records. The
entries are not arranged by location, but if you knew what kind of study
and when the study was conducted, then you might be able to locate a series
related to that type of study and from there locate information on
Discovery Bay, WA.
The materials in the EPA records are already open for public viewing.
Since there are no access restrictions on these documents, there is no need
to file a Freedom of Information Act request with the National Archives.
In regards to the dumping of ammunition, you might want to contact the US
Amry’s Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) and the Hawaiian Undersea
Military Munitions Assessment Project (HUMMA) for more information.
https://www.asaie.army.mil/Public/ESOH/mmrp.html
http://www.hummaproject.com/
https://www.denix.osd.mil/derp/about/
They may have information on Discovery Bay, WA.
As for any state-level generated environmental reports, you will need to
contact the State of Washington for their records.
Records in our custody contain a number of files that include information
on your topic. Since these files are widely dispersed, we cannot undertake
the extensive research necessary to examine the records and identify the
pertinent documents. Our staff can assist researchers with their work but
cannot perform substantive research for them. We will make the records
available in our research room so you or your representative can examine
and select documents for reproduction.
We will be pleased to make the finding aids to these records available to
you or your representative in our research room at the National Archives in
College Park, MD. The Archives II Reference Section (RDTR2) is located at
8601 Adelphi Road, College Park, MD, near the University of
Maryland--College Park campus.
--Textual Research Room (Room 2000) hours are 8:45 a.m. to 5:45 p.m. Monday
through Friday, except legal holidays.
--Our consultation room hours are 8:45 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday, except legal holidays. No appointment is necessary.
--Records are retrieved Monday through Friday for use in the Textual
Research Room at 9:30 a.m., 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m., 1:00 p.m., 2:00 p.m.,
and 3:00 p.m. We do not pull in advance.
--Prior to your visit, please consult our web site at
http://www.archives.gov/dc-metro/college-park/.
We regret any hardship that visiting our research room may cause you, but
the scope of your research, combined with our staffing limitations makes
this the most efficient way to provide you with professional archival
reference service. A list of private researchers who are familiar with
National Archives facilities is available on our web site at
http://www.archives.gov/research/hire-help/index.html. We hope you find
this information useful.
We do not consider this a denial of your FOIA request. However, if you are
not satisfied with our action on this request, your options for appeal and
dispute resolution are outlined in the attached enclosure. If you have any
questions, you may reach us at archives2reference@nara.gov. This completes
the processing of your request.
Sincerely,
NATHANIEL PATCH
Archivist, Archives II Reference Section (RDT2)
National Archives at College Park, MD
FOIA Appeal and Dispute Resolution Options
You have the right to file an administrative appeal in writing via regular
U.S. mail or email. Your appeal should be received within ninety (90)
calendar days from the date of this letter and it should explain why you
believe this response does not meet the requirements of the Freedom of
Information Act. Please address it to the Deputy Archivist of the United
States (ND), National Archives and Records Administration, 8601 Adelphi
Road, College Park, Maryland 20740. Both the letter and the envelope
should be clearly marked “Freedom of Information Act Appeal.” You may also
submit your appeal to FOIA@nara.gov also addressed to the Deputy Archivist.
All correspondence should reference your internal case tracking number
20-01405.
In addition to your right to file an administrative appeal with the Deputy
Archivist, you may seek assistance from our Acting FOIA Public Liaison
(FPL), Lynn Goodsell. Contact information for the FOIA Public Liaison at
the National Archives, Washington DC area is as follows:
*Accessioned Executive Branch Agency Records - Washington, DC Area*
FOIA requester Service Center telephone number: 301-837-3190
Acting FOIA Public Liaison: Lynn Goodsell
8601 Adelphi Road, Room 5500
College Park, MD 20740-6001
Telephone number: 301-837-3190
E-mail address: DC.FOIA.LIAISON@NARA.GOV
Finally, the Office of Government Information Services (OGIS) offers
mediation services to resolve disputes between FOIA requesters and Federal
agencies as a non-exclusive alternative to administrative appeals. Using
OGIS services does not affect your right to pursue an administrative
appeal. The contact information for OGIS is as follows:
Office of Government Information Services
National Archives and Records Administration
Room 2510
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
E-mail: ogis@nara.gov
Telephone: 202-741-5770
Facsimile: 202-741-5769
Toll-free: 1-877-684-6448
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