SUFFOLK, Va. — The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers invites the public to attend a meeting about restoration efforts at the Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot at 6:15 p.m. Dec. 4.
Corps project managers will discuss the latest clean-up progress at the Formerly Used Defense Site during the project’s final 2014 quarterly Restoration Advisory Board at the Courtyard Marriott located at 8060 Harbour View Boulevard here.
Current topics the Corps will discuss include:
· James River Beachfront Proposed Plan
· Decision Statement: Areas of Concern 2, 8 and 9
· TNT Sampling
· Project Public Involvement Plan
The quarterly RAB meetings serve as a public forum for the USACE’s remediation progress at the 975-acre defense depot, located near the former Tidewater Community College Portsmouth campus. During the meetings, RAB members ask questions and provide input on proposed work plans and restoration efforts to an interagency project team consisting of the USACE, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, and the Environmental Protection Agency.
The project’s RAB are local stakeholders that include community members, local businesses, local and state officials, a representative of the Tidewater Community College Real Estate Foundation, FNOD property owners, and interagency project team members from the Corps, the VDEQ and the U.S. EPA.
All FNOD quarterly meetings and applications for RAB membership are open to the public and the Corps encourages community members to attend and ask questions during the meeting.
The Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot became a matter of public concern when a piece of crystalline TNT was found at the Tidewater Community College, Portsmouth Campus 1987. This initiated extensive historical research, investigations, testing and removal actions. As a result of these findings, in 1999 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency placed this site on the National Priority List.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, manages the FUDS project at the Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot. Project support is also provided by the Huntsville District (the Corps’ center for expertise on ordnance-related issues), and the Norfolk District for other restoration efforts.