U.S. Air Force Fact Sheet INSTALLATION RESTORATION PROGRAM - WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE The information below will provide you with a summary of the clean-up efforts that have been accomplished at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB), and illustrate our continued effort to maintain a high standard of performance on the installation restoration program (IRP). The Restoration Team of the 88th Air Base Wing Environmental Branch manages the cleanup of environmental contamination caused by past Air Force activities at WPAFB. Links are provided to a number of documents which overview sites and remediation efforts. Cleanup sites at WPAFB typically include former landfills, demolition burial areas, old fuel spills, chemical disposal areas, storage facilities, heating plants, old storage and accidental spill areas. Sites are restored through an intensive, and often lengthy, program of identification, investigation and cleanup. Cleanup often includes a series of interim actions applying a variety of technologies best suited to address specific contaminant concerns. The community plays an important role in site cleanup through Air Force-sponsored public involvement activities, including opportunities to comment on proposed site activity and advisory board participation. Various advisory boards established throughout the Department of Defense, improve the cleanup decision-making process by ensuring cleanup decisions reflect the priorities and concerns of all stakeholders. As our restoration program has matured, WPAFB participates via an Environmental Advisory Board (EAB) that includes a review of restoration activities. The mission of the environmental restoration program at WPAFB is to take timely, appropriate action to cost effectively remediate environmental contamination to reduce or eliminate the potential risks to human health and the environment. The goals of the restoration program are to: - Protect human health and the environment - Comply with existing applicable statutes and regulations - Conduct all IRP activities in a manner consistent with Section 120 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), as amended by the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA). (See the EPA Superfund page) - Meet all requirements and deadlines of Federal Facility Agreement (FFA) also known as Interagency Agreement (IAG) with U.S. EPA Region 5 and the Consent Order with the Ohio EPA (OEPA) - Establish priorities for environmental restoration and restoration-related compliance activities so Air Force property disposal and reuse goals are met - Initiate selected removal actions to control, eliminate, or reduce risks to manageable levels - Identify and map the environmental condition of installation property including areas of no suspected contamination, and characterize risks associated with releases of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, or hazardous wastes - Complete remedial investigations (RIs) as soon as practicable for each zone or Operable Unit (OU), in order of priority - Develop, screen, and select removal actions or Remedial Actions (RAs) that reduce or eliminate risks in a manner consistent with statutory requirements - Commence removal actions or RAs for priority areas as soon as practicable PROGRAM SUMMARY NARRATIVE Significant progress has been made in the Environmental Restoration (Clean-up) Program also called the Installation Restoration Program at WPAFB. A 20 year effort at the base has documented 72 sites, with most of them subdivided by their proximity into 11 OUs. A Management Action Plan providing additional detail on many of our sites is available for viewing on this site. Numerous studies and Remedial Investigations leading to site clean-up have been accomplished on all 11 OUs. Only a few isolated or newly discovered sites are presently undergoing investigation. WPAFB has utilized a number of top-level environmental contractors as well as the U.S. Geological Survey in order to provide maximum understanding of the surface and subsurface hydrology. This information was utilized extensively to better understand the fate and transport of contamination and provide comparison to natural background conditions. These investigations have included extensive groundwater, soils, surface water, and sediment monitoring. Many sites were also explored by limited intrusive excavation in order to better determine what was in them. At sites where it was deemed necessary, various RAs have been taken in order to reduce or eliminate risk to human health and the environment, and comply with state and federal environmental laws. WPAFB presently operates and maintains two active remediation systems. These are the Groundwater Treatment System associated with Landfill 5 (OU5), to prevent migration of contaminated water toward the City of Dayton's well field, and a Leachate and Methane Collection System at Landfills 8 and 10 (OU1). WPAFB is well ahead of the Defense Planning Goals (DPG) for relative risk reduction. While much of the program work at WPAFB has reached the Operations & Maintenance (O & M) and Long Term Monitoring (LTM) phases of the cleanup process, four Areas Of Concern (AOCs) are presently being addressed. To date, 67 sites have an agency approved Record of Decision (ROD). The LTM, also known as the Basewide Monitoring Program (BMP) insures continued oversight of groundwater conditions at the Base. In addition, the BMP provides for various associated remediation activity monitoring such as site related groundwater, leachate and methane gas near landfills. A Five-Year Review is conducted on each of the ROD sites to determine whether the remedy implemented at each site is protective of human health and the environment. The Five-Year Review Report identifies any issues found during the review and makes recommendations to address them. WPAFB continues to involve our EAB in all aspects of the restoration program. Our Administrative Record of pertinent documentation is available to the public and can be viewed at the Information Repository located at Wright State University, 3640 Colonel Glenn Highway, Dayton, Ohio. Questions concerning the WPAFB IRP can be directed to Mr. Raymond Baker, (937) 257-0177, or email raymond.baker@wpafb.af.mil. Fact Sheet Point of Contact 88th Air Base Wing Public Affairs (937) 522-3252