Together with the surrounding communities, the BCT developed a cleanup plan that was consistent with projected uses of the base. The plan for the maintenance yard calls for covering a portion of the area with asphalt, so it can be used as a parking lot. Similarly, the landfill was covered with a special cap to contain the contamination, which has made it possible to use the area for recreational purposes. At the airfield, soil areas with extensive solvent contamination have been removed and the groundwater is now being treated. To date, the BCT has completed more than 40 cleanup actions, including removal and disposal of asbestos and contaminated underground storage tanks, building debris, and scrap metals.
Additional cleanup is planned or under way at the other contaminated areas on the site.
DoD retained control of 5,000 acres of land, including all of the South Post and portions of the Main and North Posts, for construction of a new Army Reserve enclave and training area. Land given up by DoD became what is now called the Devens Commerce Center. Twenty-two acres belong to the Department of Labor for a Jobs Corp Center. The Department of Justice is building a Federal Bureau of Prisons Hospital on 222 acres, and the Fish and Wildlife Service has taken over 836 acres along the Nashua River for an extension to the Oxbow National Wildlife Refuge. Prior to any private development, the state legislature required a plan that would outline future use of the former base.