| Honey Lake | 60523.00 | Milford | In 1933, the Army acquired 44,243 acres from the State of California and in February 1942, the Army acquired an additional 16,280 acres of land adjacent to Honey Lake from the State for the construction of Sierra Ordnance Depot. The Honey Lake area may have been used as an aerial bombing and strafing range prior to World War II. It is not known what locations in the lake area were affected by the aerial training or what type of ordnance was used. From 1942 to the mid-1950s, the east side of the lake was used for demolition of ordnance and function testing of pyrotechnics and other types of ammunition. Since that time there has been no military use of the lakebed. In 1975, 60,108 acres of the site were reported as excess by the Commander, Sierra Army Depot, and were reported to General Services Administration (GSA) for disposal on 26 November 1975. GSA deeded the property to the State of California by quitclaim deed dated 1 April 1977. The deed stated that the property had been decontaminated to the extent the U.S. Government deemed necessary and recommended the property be restricted to surface use only. The deed also stated the State of California would assume all risk for any and all personal damages that might arise, holding the U.S. Government harmless of same. The deed was not accepted by the State. The State indicated that they would not accept the deed unless the property was certified to be free of contamination. The Corps of Engineers advised GSA that there was no practical method to determine what the lakebed contains and that the Department of the Army could not certify that Honey Lake was completely free of explosive material. The State of California did not want to accept the land "as is." Because the State refused the deed, GSA requested the Lassen County Clerk to record the deed anyway. The deed was recorded on 8 March 1981. Since certification was not forthcoming, the Department of Defense (DoD) still owned Honey Lake. |
