For Public Review and Comment
Proposed Plan
Area of Concern 6,
Ammonia Settling Pits, Trinitrotoluene Graining House Sump,
and Trinitrotoluene Catch Box Ruins Subareas
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown Cheatham Annex
Williamsburg, Virginia
|
The Department of Navy (Navy) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), in consultation with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) are holding a public comment period July 12 – August 26, 2026, on the preferred alternative to address environmental issues at three subareas of Area of Concern (AOC) 6, Penniman AOC, located at Naval Weapons Station Yorktown Cheatham Annex (CAX), in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The environmental media and subareas related to the former Penniman Shell Loading Plant that comprise AOC 6 addressed in this Proposed Plan are: (1) soil at the Ammonia Settling Pits (ASP), (2) soil at the trinitrotoluene (TNT) Graining House Sump, and (3) soil at the TNT Catch Box Ruins (due to proximity, the latter two are together known as the TNT subareas). Investigations of other environmental media (e.g., groundwater) at AOC 6 have been conducted since 1999, and two other AOC 6 subareas (Waste Slag Material and 1918 Drum Storage) have previously been addressed; they are not included in this Proposed Plan.
A brief overview of the site and the Proposed Plan can be found in the public notice HERE.
A soil removal action was conducted at the ASP and the TNT subareas in 2022. By removing soil, contaminants that posed potential human health or ecological risks were removed. Therefore, no additional remediation is necessary, and the Proposed Plan recommends no further action to address soil at the ASP and TNT subareas of AOC 6.
The Navy invites the public to view the following presentation, describing the site, the previous removal action, and the rationale for proposing no further action, which can be found HERE.
The Proposed Plan, which is described in the presentation, can be found HERE. All other technical reports can also be found under the Administrative Record tab using the key words “AOC 6”.
Public participation is an important part of the remedy selection process. A public comment period on this Proposed Plan will extend from July 12 - August 26, 2026, and an online public meeting will be held on August 11, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. The Navy will consider any new information and/or public comments before a final decision is made.
During the comment period, interested parties may submit written comments to the following people:
Shane Noyes, Remedial Project Manager
NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic
9742 Maryland Avenue Building EV33
Norfolk, VA 23511-3095
Phone: (757) 341-2009
DSN: 341-2009
Email: shane.r.noyes.civ@us.navy.mil
For further information, you may also contact:
Sarina Howell, Remedial Project Manager
EPA (Region III) 4 Penn Center
1600 John F. Kennedy Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2852
Phone: (215) 814-3364
Email: howell.sarina@epa.gov
Wade Smith, Remedial Project Manager
Virginia Dept. of Environmental Quality
1111 East Main Street, Suite 1400
Richmond, VA 23219
Phone: (804) 659-1396
Email: wade.smith@deq.virginia.gov
A virtual public meeting will be held using Microsoft Teams on August 11, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. Click HERE to join the meeting on your computer (preferred) or call 469-214-8538 and use conference ID# 911 031 639# to join.
|
Cheatham Annex Community Involvement Plan
A Community Involvement Plan (CIP) is a site-specific strategy to enable meaningful community involvement throughout the restoration and cleanup process at CAX. The CIP was developed to comply with USEPA, Department of Defense, Navy, and Federal Registration Requirements and incorporated input from the public, through surveys and interviews, on how the public would like to be involved in the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act process. Updates to the CIP are generally conducted every five years. The CIP update began in 2019 and was finalized in 2021.
About the Restoration Advisory Board
The ongoing success of the Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) community relations program is largely thanks to the RAB. The RAB is an advisory unit made up of community members, local environmental group members, and state and federal officials. The RAB is designed to function as a focal point for the exchange of information between CAX and the local community regarding environmental restoration activities. The RAB is intended to bring community members with diverse interests together with government officials representing the Navy, USEPA, and VDEQ. This partnership enables the early and continued two-way flow of information, concerns, values, and needs between the community and CAX.
The CAX RAB is co-chaired by the Installation's Commanding Officer and a community member who is elected by other community members. The CAX RAB meets annually to review technical documents and discuss cleanup actions and alternatives. All RAB meetings are open to the public and are advertised in local newspapers.
The RAB focuses on developing a strong relationship with the local residents and environmental groups. These relationships are the foundation for fostering trust and creating an effective environmental community relations program.
The next RAB meeting for CAX will be held in-person and online on November 18, 2026 from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. at the York County Public Library (8500 George Washington Hwy, Yorktown, VA).
RAB Meeting presentations are available below:
To request a mailed hardcopy of the presentations, please contact the Navy’s contractor, Mr. Hugo Thouverez, at (813) 992-4281 or hugo.thouverez@jacobs.com.
2025 RAB Meeting Minutes
2024 RAB Meeting Minutes
2023 RAB Meeting Minutes
2022 RAB Meeting Minutes
2021 RAB Meeting Minutes
2020 RAB Meeting Minutes
RAB Meeting Minutes prior to 2020 can be accessed via the Administrative Record.
Public Notices
Public notices are issued to announce RAB and public meetings, the dates of public comment periods for Engineering Evaluation and Cost Estimates (EE/CAs) and Proposed Plans, signature of Records of Decisions (RODs), Action Memorandums, and changes to the Munitions Response Site Prioritization Protocol. The notices are published in The Daily Press, Virginia Gazette, and on this web site.
Public Comment Periods and Meetings
Proposed Plans and EE/CAs are made available for public comment. A public meeting is held for each Proposed Plan issued by the Navy, and by request for EE/CAs. The meeting is held at the information repository location during the Proposed Plan public comment period. During the meeting, Navy officials will discuss the findings of the Remedial Investigation report, the various cleanup alternatives, the Navy's preferred cleanup alternative, and the rationale for the preferred cleanup alternative. Meeting attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions and make comments at the meeting. The public may also submit written comments during the public comment period. A Responsiveness Summary is prepared for significant comments received and is made available in the information repository.
Notices announcing the public comment periods are published in the legal section of The Daily Press, Virginia Gazette, and on this website. The documents are made available for review in the information repository and on this website.
Information Repository
An information repository consisting of a reference collection of general and CAX ERP site information, including documents for public review, the CIP, Superfund information, and fact sheets is maintained at:
York County Public Library – Yorktown
8500 George Washington Memorial Highway
Yorktown, Virginia
(757) 890-5207
Current Fact Sheets
Historical Fact Sheets
Naval Weapons Station Yorktown Public Affairs Office
Naval Weapons Station (NWS) Yorktown
160 Main Road, Yorktown, VA 23691-0160
(757) 887-4939