SUFFOLK, Va. — Federal, state and local agencies tackling restoration efforts at Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot will sign a memorandum of understanding at this month’s quarterly Restoration Advisory Board meeting, officials announced.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Environmental Protection Agency, Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and Tidewater Community College Real Estate Foundation are entering into the new pact to increase coordination and develop a joint process and schedule to expeditiously address risks to human health and the environment, as well as facilitate prompt, productive reuse and redevelopment of the land.
The meeting is set for Thursday from 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. at Tidewater Community College’s Center for Workforce Solutions, 7000 College Drive in Suffolk. In addition to the signing, community members can learn more about this formerly-used defense site and hear the latest cleanup progress.
Other agenda topics include:
• Munitions and explosives of concern as part of shoreline-removal action
• Horseshoe Pond remedial action
Board members and stakeholders include residents, area businesses; local, state and federal regulators; property owners, USACE personnel and contractors, and other interested parties.
The meetings serve as a public forum for USACE’s cleanup efforts at the 975-acre defense depot, located near Tidewater Community College’s former Portsmouth campus. RAB members ask questions and provide input on all aspects of the restoration process to the interagency project team.
EPA placed Former Nansemond Ordnance Depot on its National Priorities List in 1997. Two years later, the Restoration Advisory Board was established.
The board welcomes new members, and all quarterly meetings are open to the public.
For more information, visit the project website at www.nao.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/FNOD or contact Patrick Bloodgood with the USACE Norfolk District Public Affairs Office at 757-201-7606 or patrick.j.bloodgood@usace.army.mil.