Environmental advisers say Dix cleanup efforts on track Published Nov. 10, 2009 By Michael Slade and James McClain Air Force Center for Engineering and Environment JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. -- A team of Air Force and scientific experts announced the environmental cleanup program at Dix will meet or exceed Air Force standards. The Dix environmental program is on track for early compliance with the Air Force goal of implementing "Remedy-in-Place" by 2012. The program will focus on several small-arms munitions sites and secure approval to remove a landfill from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency National Priority List. This will set the stage for negotiations with state officials to closeout cleanup efforts. An Environmental Restoration Program Optimization expert review was conducted in July. The review is part of a unique program sponsored by the Air Force Center for Engineering and Environment. ERP-O provides the base with an intense, week-long evaluation of cleanup efforts. This ensures the base is protective, efficient and timely. The review also serves to apprise base decision-makers of the program's status. The review will accelerate the closure of sites poised to enter the final stages of environmental cleanup. ERP-O reviews led to the closure of 45 polluted sites at Air Force bases in the last two years, speeding the pace of closures by a minimum of five years. The reviews promote cost-effective cleanups, which further promote a range of other health, community, administrative and pollution-reduction benefits. The ERP-O team evaluating Dix recommended reducing the time used for monitoring munitions debris, while ensuring areas undergoing munitions and possible petroleum investigations make progress. The team urged the base to erect signs alerting visitors of areas under investigation for munitions debris. Dix environmental managers made significant strides in addressing the major contaminated areas. Only pockets of potential contamination remain. Management has plans in place for investigating these sites. Conceptual site models depict types of soil and the movement of underground water and pollutants. They will help guide cleanup efforts as base managers prepare to discuss the closeout of cleanup efforts with the approval of federal and state regulators. Dix officials are successfully working with cleanup contractors and are well ahead of broader Air Force goals of having cleanups in the place at all bases by 2012. As their work approaches finalization, the Dix environmental team can begin preparing plans to closeout cleanup efforts. The process is challenging because of the need to meet both state and federal standards. The Air Force Center for Engineering and Environment will provide support to Dix during this process. "The ERP-O review points the way toward key steps that will improve the performance and management of the Air Force cleanup program, accelerate discussions with state regulators and foster a collaborative effort to meet program goals," said Andrew Mendoza, AFCEE Restoration Program Management Office representative. For information on the ERP-O programs, see the program description on the AFCEE website http://www.afcee.af.mil/resources/restoration/rpo/index/asp.