The Army Corps of Engineers will spend $5 million to resume clearing unexploded bombs left behind on Vineyard beaches during World War II training exercises.

The money will be used to locate munitions in four shoreline areas on Chappaquiddick, Edgartown and West Tisbury owned by The Trustees of Reservations and the state: Little Neck at Cape Pogue, Norton Point, Long Point Wildlife Refuge in West Tisbury and South Beach in Edgartown.

It is not uncommon for ordnance left over from World War II to wash ashore on Vineyard beaches. Sites on the Island, including South Beach and Cape Pogue, were used for dive bomb training and munitions operations.

Many practice bombs were not functioning weapons, but had a small explosive charge that shot out a red phosphorous pyrotechnic that signaled to the pilot where the bomb landed. Still, they can potentially be hazardous.

Throughout the 1980s and 90s, thousands of rusted warheads and practice bombs were pulled from the clay and sand of South Beach, including a 1,700-pound torpedo recovered in 1994. At times, recovery efforts closed portions of that beach to the public.

Bomb squads still visit the Island as many as a half dozen times a year to collect and detonate these mostly inert munitions.

The Army has begun preparations for ordnance contractors to begin work this summer to quantify the location and extent of practice and live munitions on these beaches and adjacent waters.

“[This is a] key step to ensure our beaches and inshore waters are safe for the enjoyment of all,” said Chris Kennedy, the Island regional director for The Trustees of Reservations.

Last summer the Army conducted an emergency cleanup of rockets and practice bombs which led to the discovery and disposal of 127 MK-23 and MK-5 practice bombs from Little Neck and 617 practice bombs and warheads from Norton Point and South Beach. All were found to be expended.

However, in the past several years, the state police and U.S. Navy have detonated several 100-pound bombs and munitions that contained explosive material from Tisbury Great Pond and Wasque Point on Chappaquiddick.