On 26 October 2017, BRGM and the French Ministry of the Armed Forces formalised their intention to work together on various missions related to polluted sites and soils by signing a partnership agreement. 
27 October 2017
Signing of the partnership agreement between the Ministry of the Armed Forces and BRGM

Signing of the partnership agreement between the Ministry of the Armed Forces, represented by General Fontan, and BRGM, represented by Michèle Rousseau.

© BRGM - Frédéric Moreira

On 26 October 2017, a partnership agreement was signed with the French Ministry of the Armed Forces at BRGM's headquarters and scientific and technical centre in Orleans.

This partnership will enable BRGM to broaden the scope of its interventions. In particular, BRGM will work on specific issues to be dealt with on large-scale, secure sites that can be made available for research work over long periods of time.

The Ministry of the Armed Forces has great need for the restructuring of its shooting ranges, the management of its polluted land and also the rehabilitation of its real estate assets.

Working together since 2012

The Ministry of the Armed Forces values BRGM's expertise and has been collaborating with BRGM since 2012, when fruitful contacts began to be established with the Defence Infrastructure Service (SID) on the subject of polluted sites and soils.

It was in 2015 that the suggestion of a partnership agreement between BRGM and the Ministry of the Armed Forces, formerly the Ministry of Defence, first arose. An initial agreement was therefore signed for work on the La Courneuve site (Seine-Saint-Denis) with the then Ministry of Defence as project manager and the civil and military authorities (Secrétariat Général pour l'Administration and the Préfecture of Seine-Saint-Denis).

In 2017, two bids were signed with the SID in Tours; one for geotechnical expertise for the construction of a signalling station (sémaphore) in Dieppe and the other for the testing of geophysical methods for characterising pollution plumes at the Courneuve site.

Principal collaborative projects between BRGM and the Ministry of the Armed Forces

Since 2012, an excellent relationship has been established between BRGM and the Ministry of the Armed Forces, with, in particular:

  • the construction of a field school for the SSP Professional qualification (BRGM/University of Marne-la-Vallée) on the La Courneuve site (2016-2017). Access to the military site as well as to the site's facilities was made available free of charge.
  • invitations by BRGM to its opposite numbers from the ESID of Rennes to attend the SSP technical days;
  • BRGM's answers to questions on various topics: international geological knowledge, possible effects of geology on unexploded ordnance, definition of the analyses to be carried out to clarify the possible impact of stockpiles of old ordnance, etc.;
  • a full-scale test of a new geophysical detection technique at the Châteaudun military base;
  • regular meetings with the military administration (Contrôle Générale des Armées) in various bodies including the Conseil Supérieur de la Prévention des Risques Technologiques (CSPRT).