As of 2022 Naval Station Newport, encompasses 1,063 acres on the west coast of
Aquidneck Island in
Portsmouth, Rhode Island,
Middletown, Rhode Island, and
Newport, Rhode Island. The Base also encompasses the northern third of
Gould Island (Rhode Island) in the Town of
Jamestown, RI. In 1996, a
Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) was established. From 1955 to the mid-1970s, an 11-acre portion of the site along the shore of Narragansett Bay, McAllister Point Landfill, accepted wastes consisting of acids, solvents, paint, waste oil, and oil contaminated with
polychlorinated biphenyl. Five tank farms are located in the Melville area; one is located in Midway, one tank farm is located 300 feet from a coastal wetland. Sludge from nearby tank farms was dumped on the ground or burned in chambers. Other areas of concern are an old fire fighting training area, Gould Island, Derecktor Shipyard, Carr Point Storage Area, and MRP Site 1 Carr Point Shooting Range. In 2016, DFSP Melville was added as a new site. The Melville North Landfill was classified as
Formerly Used Defense Sites, and will be addressed separately. Of note, surface water and groundwater flow toward
Narragansett Bay, which is used for boating and fishing. About 4,800 people obtain drinking water and 220 acres of land are irrigated from private wells located within three miles of the site and about 10,000 people live within three miles of the site. The petroleum tanks housed at Naval Station Newport are overseen by the federal
Defense Logistics Agency (DLA), but the firefighting systems were maintained by the Navy. While the land is polluted with petroleum and
PFAS, the Navy has responsibility for PFAS contamination and the DLA for with petroleum. In 2021, after 2 years of the navy being "in the process" of getting permission to test land under the Portsmouth jurisdiction, little progress had been made. ==History==