Defense Environmental Restoration Program Updates

2019 Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) Forum: Achieving Greater Success Through Strong Partnerships

The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (Environment) (ODASD(Env)) hosted the DERP Forum in St. Louis, Missouri on May 8-9, 2019. The Forum brought DoD and State and Federal regulators together to discuss cleanup issues and strategies at active installations and Base Realignment and Closure locations. The dialogue that occurred over two days enabled the Forum participants to:

share information about best practices and technologies to support cleanup;

exchange views between DoD and it’s regulatory partners;

improve communications; and

build confidence in the DoD cleanup program among the regulatory community to support decision-making.

Each session encouraged open and interactive conversations on emerging issues, best practices, and lessons learned. One highlight of the Forum was when DoD, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and State representatives shared innovative approaches and partnering strategies for successfully managing Perfluorooctane Sulfonate and Perfluorooctanic Acid cleanup activities.

The second day of the Forum featured session tracks focusing on the installation restoration program (IRP) and munitions response (MR). The IRP track covered a variety of crucial topics, including partnering and risk communications strategies; solutions to address challenging IRP sites; technologies and approaches for investigating vapor intrusion; and remedy optimization. The MR track focused on the tools and data quality necessary to support sound, risk-based decision making.

The Forum was successfully facilitated partnering between DoD and the regulatory community. Click here for the complete agenda and links to the presentations.

Munitions Response Dialogue (MRD)

DoD established the MRD to foster communication and collaboration between representatives from the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), DoD Components, and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); State environmental regulators; and Federal Land Managers (FLMs). These entities use their experiences and expertise to exchange views, information, and advice relating to managing or implementing the Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP).

The MRD has held seven face-to-face meetings to date, with the most recent meeting taking place on August 25-26, 2015, in Arlington, Virginia. At the meeting, members of the MRD continued to discuss transitioning advanced classification to more common use in the field and the tools necessary to make that transition. These tools include the DoD advanced geophysical classification accreditation program, the updated advanced classification Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP), and training. The group also discussed construction support for land use controls (LUCs) and underwater munitions.

DoD developed a fact sheet to provide information about each of the stakeholder groups working on advanced classification and their activities to transition the technology to more common use in the field.

DoD is planning the next MRD face-to-face meeting for February 17-18, 2016, in Arlington, Virginia. During this meeting, the group will discuss information and details to include in decision documents, the munitions and explosives of concern QAPP, advanced classification training, and LUCs.

Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials (ASTSWMO)

ASTSWMO's mission is to enhance and promote effective State and Territorial programs and to affect relevant national policies for waste and materials management, environmentally sustainable practices, and environmental restoration.

The Association holds two general membership meetings each year, and a number of specialized roundtables, workshops, and conferences for specific program areas of high interest.

The last meeting took place on October 29-30, 2014, in Reston, Virginia. The meeting featured the theme “40 Years of Protecting Human Health and the Environment.” During the plenary session, meeting attendees discussed what they had learned over the past 40 years, what they need to focus on now and moving forward, and changes necessary to move environmental policy forward. Program-specific sessions covered a variety of topics, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and Brownfields; the Military Munitions Response Program; hazardous waste and materials management; and tanks.

The next meeting will take place on April 22-23, 2015, in Little Rock, Arkansas.

For more information about ASTSWMO, please visit this site.

DERP Status

DoD establishes goals to measure cleanup progress for each program category. In FY2013, DoD performed a thorough review and analysis of existing DERP goals and in March 2013, established updated and consolidated DERP goals. Click here to view the previous and updated goals.

The Defense Environmental Programs Annual Report to Congress provides an overview of the DERP and contains DoD's progress toward the updated program goals.

FY2019 Fast Facts:

The FY2019 Fast Facts provides a high-level summary of the environmental budgets, the DERP site inventory, and progress toward the DERP goals as of the end of FY2019.

Installation Restoration Program (IRP)/Military Munitions Response Program (MMRP) Status Tables:

These tables present data for the IRP and MMRP as of the end of FY2019. The tables are arranged by installation, state, and DoD Component, and portray various aspects of the DERP such as cleanup status and funding information.