Community Involvement
The Navy, Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (ABL), West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP), and United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) are committed to maintaining open dialogue with the surrounding community as we work together through the Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) activities at ABL. As part of the ERP at ABL, the Navy has implemented a community involvement program to address issues of concern regarding the environmental investigation and restoration activities at ABL. The Navy's intent is to present factual and timely information, obtain community feedback, and promote understanding of the ongoing environmental activities.
The Navy completed an update to the Community Involvement Plan (CIP) for ABL in February 2019 to continue the communication link between the Navy and stakeholders, including residents and state and local officials. A goal of the CIP is to keep the general public informed of ongoing actions, aware of major findings, and involved in site restoration decisions. The CIP guides the community involvement efforts at ABL, providing opportunities for the public to share their input at various stages of the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) process. An updated CIP is currently being prepared and is expected to be completed in 2025.
The Department of Defense (DOD) established Restoration Advisory Boards (RABs) across the country to engage community members in helping to address environmental restoration at current and former military installations within their respective community and share their knowledge of the restoration being performed by the DOD with the broader local community. The ABL RAB met regularly from 1995 to 2006; however, interest and community participation waned over time. Several attempts to assess interest in the RAB between 2008 and 2019 did not reveal community interest, and in 2022, the Navy issued a public notice that the RAB would be adjourned. No comments were received on the notice of adjournment. The Navy will continue to periodically reassess community interest in re-establishing the RAB.
PUBLIC COMMENT PERIODS AND MEETINGS
Notices announcing public comment periods are published in the legal section of the Cumberland Times-News. The documents are made available for review in the information repository and on this web site.
Information Repository
An information repository consisting of a reference collection of general and ABL ERP site information, including documents for public review, the CIP, Superfund information, and fact sheets. These types of documents can be found at the following information repositories during normal business hours:
Fort Ashby Public Library
74 Lincoln Street
Fort Ashby, WV 26719
(304) 298-4493
Washington Street Public Library
31 Washington Street
Cumberland, MD 21502
(301) 777-1200