BUXTON, N.C. (WITN) – An Outer Banks beach that was closed last year is once again welcoming visitors.
Last August, the Cape Hatteras National Seashore closed a section of beach in Buxton again after officials say beach erosion had exposed dangerous chemicals.
Tests done last Friday show total petroleum hydrocarbons are well below Department of Environmental Quality action limits.
The National Park Service says a three-tenths-of-a-mile section of shoreline near the Buxton Formerly Used Defense Site was shut down due to the presence of petroleum odors and light sheens.
The reopening comes after soil tests and consultations with the U.S. Public Health Service and Dare County’s Department of Health and Human Services.
It comes after extensive cleanup efforts done by the Army Corps of Engineers over the past 18 months.
Cape Hatteras says it plans to reopen the lifeguarded beach parking area in the coming days after debris from collapsed houses are removed by a contractor.
The beach in front of the village remains closed due to the threat of oceanfront homes collapsing.
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