The goal of community outreach is to advocate for and strengthen early and meaningful community participation in the Navy’s Environmental Restoration Program (ERP). The overarching objective of the Navy’s ERP is to protect human health and the environment from past hazardous waste practices and releases at Navy and Marine Corps Installation Restoration Program (IRP) and Munitions Response Program (MRP) sites. The Navy is committed to involving the public during the site investigation and cleanup process at Naval Air Station (NAS) Fallon, by both formal and informal means of communications. Health and safety on the air station and in our communities is a top Navy priority.
Federal and state laws and regulations require community involvement during site investigation and cleanup activities conducted under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This ensures that the public is informed and involved early, that public concerns are heard, and that their comments are considered in making final decisions on managing cleanup activities. The Navy encourages meaningful and productive participation by everyone in the community.
Community Involvement Plan
The Navy, in conjunction with the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, is responsible for oversight of the Navy’s ERP. The Navy published a final community relations plan (CRP) in 2004. The CRP provides an opportunity for community outreach activities at NAS Fallon, addressing both community concerns and expectations. Community involvement described in the CRP provides opportunities for active public involvement, strives to meet the community’s needs for information, seeks community input concerning environmental cleanup decisions, and provides mechanisms for feedback to the public on how the Navy is incorporating the community’s concerns into the ERP at NAS Fallon. The 2004 CRP is available through the Administrative Records tab on this website.
Community outreach activities include conducting community meetings; publishing fact sheets, newsletters, and public notices; and contacting the community through website postings and by electronic mail. Some documents produced during Navy site investigation and cleanup activities have a required formal review period during which the public can provide comments and input, while other documents are not subject to the same public review and comment requirement.
The Navy formed a Technical Review Committee (TRC) at NAS Fallon in 1989 for the purpose of ensuring a continuing dialogue among members of the community, DoD, and regulatory agencies on issues concerning environmental remediation. The TRC was converted into a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB), and the Navy solicited participation from the community in 1994. The RAB at NAS Fallon has been inactive for the past few years. In lieu of the RAB meetings, public meetings may be held by the Navy to keep the local community and agencies involved in the remedial process.
The contacts for NAS Fallon Community Involvement include the NAS Fallon Commanding Officer, with support from Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southwest. Public meetings support is also provided by the NAS Fallon Public Affairs Office and the NAS Fallon Environmental Division.
Community Involvement Point of Contact:
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southwest
Phone: (619) 705-5443
Information Repository and Administrative Record
Information repositories have been established to provide public access to technical reports and other information about the investigation and cleanup of sites at NAS Fallon. A collection of environmental restoration documents is available through the Administrative Records tab on this website.
CLICK HERE to access the online Administrative Record files for NAS Fallon.
Correspondence, reports, minutes, fact sheets, public notices, and other records are available for public review at the following locations:
Information Repository
Churchill County Library
553 South Main Street
Fallon, NV 89406
(775) 422-7581
Administrative Record
Command Records Manager
Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southwest
750 Pacific Highway
Code EV33, NBSD Bldg. 3519
San Diego, CA 92132-5190
Phone (619) 556-1280
Public Affairs Office
The mission of the Public Affairs Office is to manage the command's community relations program and serve as the point of contact for all media and public inquiries.
The Public Affairs Office provides information and press releases to newspapers, TV, radio stations, and civic organizations, and schedules and conducts interviews and news conferences.
The Public Affairs Office contact is:
Public Affairs Office
Naval Air Station Fallon
Phone: (775) 426-2880
Community Meetings and Public Comment Periods
In accordance with US Environmental Protection Agency and US Department of Defense requirements, community meetings will be held as appropriate during the remediation process. Notices of any upcoming public meetings will be published approximately two weeks prior to the meeting in the Lahontan Valley News and the Fallon Post. In addition, notices will be posted at the Information Repository at the Churchill County Library.
To ensure effective two-way communication with local community members, public comment periods are a federal requirement of the remedial action process and are established at critical times in the cleanup process. All public comments received by the Navy will be considered and, as appropriate, incorporated into final documents.