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**Date:** April 7, 2005

**Topics:**

-   Update status of stewardship-related activities at the Fernald
    Closure Project

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-   Discuss post-closure steward of excess photographs

-   Explore post-closure public access to Fernald site

# Attendees: Fernald Citizens Advisory Board

> Jim Bierer
>
> Lisa Crawford
>
> Pam Dunn
>
> Robert Tabor

# FRESH

> Edwa Yocum

# The Perspectives Group

> David Bidwell
>
> Douglas Sarno

# U.S. Department of Energy

Jack Craig

> Jane Powell
>
> Johnny Reising
>
> Gary Stegner

# Ohio Environmental Protection Agency

> Donna Bohannon

# Fluor Fernald

> Ken Alkema
>
> Sue Walpole
>
> Eric Woods

# Additional Attendees

Diane Darrigo, Nuclear Information & Resource Service

Rick Dion, Calibre & Stoller Corporation

John Ford, Stoller Corporation

> Jim Innis, Crosby Township Historical Society & FLH, Inc.
>
> Carl Jacobson, Stoller Corporation

Melissa Lutz, Stoller Corporation

# Karen Williams, Stoller Corporation

#  

# David Bidwell called the meeting to order and asked the attendees to introduce themselves.

# 

# Updates and Announcements

David Bidwell, Sue Walpole and Doug Sarno recently visited the restored
wetlands on the North part of the site and were very impressed with the
progress. David encouraged the Committee to go out and see the site. The
CAB is going on a tour in June. The group spent some time reflecting on
the past efforts that brought them to where they are today; they were
glad they emphasized future use in their work.

A local public radio station recently did a story on Fernald; Doug will
try to get a copy for the group to hear at the CAB meeting on Saturday.
The story centered on wildlife present at the site, against the
background of the continuing cleanup. Sue Walpole brought a picture of
the salamander they have been looking for on site; one has been found.
Spring peepers, bullfrogs, green frogs, cricket frogs, and grey tree
frogs have all been found on site.

**Transition Update -- Jane Powell**

Jane thanked the group for getting final comments on the Community
Involvement Plan (CIP) to her; she reported that most have been
incorporated into the document. The revised Legacy Management and
Institutional Controls Plan (LMIC), however, had already gone to the
printer when they received a comment concerning the importance of
post-closure education and outreach so that comment is not reflected in
the latest version. A whole section on education and outreach will be
added to the CIP in the next version of the LMIC.

The Site Transition Plan (STP) was signed on April 1, 2005. The first
quarterly report on milestones went in about the same time. Jane
reviewed the document with the group. Table 1 lists the milestones that
are being tracked and would need Headquarters' approval to change at
this point. The STP was handed out at the CAB meeting in March. David
will try to obtain an electronic version of the plan for distribution.
Jane emphasized that the STP is a very open document; complete with all
the risks and uncertainties that the public should know about. The FCAB
will not submit comments on this document, but David distributed a
summary of the STP to the Board members.

LM becomes operationally and financially responsible for the site at the
beginning of FY 08 (10-01-07).

The remainder of groundwater remediation will be the responsibility of
LM after that date and until completion. Maintenance of the on-site
disposal facility (OSDF), south wellfield, community involvement, and
management of the 900 restored acres will also be LM responsibility.
During 2006, LM will be operationally responsible, but using EM's
budget. LM gets the "keys" in 2006, the "checkbook" in 2007, and the
"title" in 2008.

LM has also been working on real estate issues, in order to make sure
the title is ready to be transferred within DOE. There are 11-13 parcels
of land with separate titles. LM met with Hamilton County Parks Board to
assure that they are truly interested in being the post-closure land
manager. LM would like to begin work on a procurement strategy and draft
a statement of work for management of the 900 acres. Jane stated that
Hamilton County Parks are the best qualified candidates and already
manage many trails. Jane is not sure whether or not the official
arrangement would be a grant or a contract, but DOE LM will not let go
of site ownership. Hamilton County will be a service provider to DOE LM,
providing land management services. Doug raised the question of how
citizens will view the park in the future (e.g., as a county park or
Federal lands). Jane stated that she didn't know about that, but she did
know that Hamilton County has the proper expertise. They also manage
lands that are not open to the public, existing strictly for wildlife
habitat.

Audrey Berry was not present because there has been no decision on
whether or not the LSO will be chartered under the Federal Advisory
Committee Act (FACA). Audrey sent her regrets and apologies, and will
attend once a decision is made. Doug gave the group a brief refresher on
FACA. FACA requires a lot of administrative work, and has certain
requirements. The FCAB is a FACA board, for example, and must put a
notice in the Federal Register for each meeting. Also, agencies are not
required to get consensus decisions from a group unless they are
chartered under FACA. These requirements make many agency managers wary
of being chartered under FACA, but Doug stated the requirements happen
anyway in a well-run group.

The current storage space for photos is leased through 2007, so the
photos are secure for the near term. Recently EM, LM and the new
Consolidated Business Center in Cincinnati have met to develop a
community-responsive, and NARA-compliant, process for photos and
records. That group will let the public know when they have figured out
what to do and how the public can contribute.

The current matrix of transition tasks was passed around and discussed.
Jane emphasized that it was still a draft. The matrix will help LM and
EM track tasks that need to be completed. There's a short section on
stakeholders, but that will be expanded.

Jane also emphasized that they are still tracking information technology
(IT) site transition needs. Pam Dunn stated her desire for computer
stations that anyone could use to find current site trends on soil,
water, air, wildlife, and remediation to be available on site after
closure.

Bob Tabor raised the issue of worker transition, which is another
responsibility of LM; however, this issue is not in the purview of the
CAB. LM agreed to talk off-line with Bob regarding this issue. Members
agreed that at some point LM staff should talk directly to the workers.

# Restoration Update 

Eric Woods gave an update on restoration. Seven projects have been
completed, encompassing 260 acres. Another 4 projects are in process; 2
of those will be complete this spring. Including almost completed
restoration, 400 acres of the site have been restored to date.

Two different restoration efforts are currently in progress. First,
perimeter wetland work, involving primarily plantings, will be complete
by mid-June. Approximately 4,000 trees and shrubs and 10,000 seedlings
were planted last fall, and another 9,000 will be planted over the
summer and fall. These plantings should be complete by December 2005.
The second effort is the restoration of centrally located, former
production areas. About 80 percent of the 26 acres in this area are
complete.

Work crews will increase from 1 to 3 separate crews doing restoration
over the summer. Within Fluor there are currently one construction
manager, 3 ecologists and 20-25 crew members working on restoration,
with the crew growing to 50-60 mid-summer.

Compost is being brought in for grading and improving the soil. The site
will end up using over 90,000 cubic yards of compost.

Grading work will be ongoing until March of 2006. The wetlands are the
most difficult areas to restore, and require the deepest excavations;
they will be the focus of work this summer. By January 2006, most
perimeter areas will be leveled off and draining property. There is a
dramatic difference between areas that are just completed and those that
have been complete for a few years. The design plans are available to
the public. They have very detailed information on the locations of
wetlands, types of grasses, locations of bird boxes, and other features
of the restoration. These wetlands are going to be very unique for Ohio.
The site will have different types of wetlands close together. An
amazing diversity and number of birds and waterfowl have been sighted on
site including red tailed hawks, great horned owls, wood ducks, blue and
green winged teals, horned grebes, and more.

A question was raised concerning the type and amount of wildlife
monitoring at the site. Eric explained that each project does its own
monitoring, and some have very strict requirements for monitoring. There
are two types of monitoring: one to make sure the restoration was
completed right in the first place, and other monitoring from a
functional standpoint to see how the site as a whole is progressing.
From a wildlife standpoint, data is not collected to compare to certain
criteria, but to record what species have been found on the site and
determine if those are the desired species for the habitat. From an
amphibian standpoint the site is doing really well. The recent public
radio story on Fernald was all about finding species that indicate water
and environmental quality.

Participants had some questions about the extent to which the
restoration plan addresses the invasive species and natural succession.
Eric assured the group that monitoring, maintenance, and invasive
species are all components of the natural resource restoration plan. A
lot of honeysuckle (an invasive species) has already been pulled out of
the site, mainly in the northern portion of the site, and those areas
have been reseeded with a native woodland mix. After removal of
invasives, other undergrowth will come back. One reason to choose
Hamilton County Parks as the post-closure land manager is because of
their experience with invasives. Sue Walpole relayed that much of the
"pine monoculture" on portions of the site will subside after a number
of years as hardwoods come back.

Last year the approach being used to prevent deer from eating seedlings
and new growth was changed. Up until that point the site was using a
combination of tree tubes and repellent sprays and seeing only limited
success. Now Fluor is putting up deer exclusion fences around areas with
new plantings, which is more of an upfront financial investment but
about equal to the total cost of the prior strategy. Exclusion fences
can be in place for about 5-7 years before they need maintenance, which
should be enough time for seedlings to develop. The site is currently
seeing a leveling out of deer impact because so many areas are being
restored and the high level of on-site activity keeps them off site.

**Natural Resources Damages Settlement - Johnny Reising**

Last month the group was informed that the Ohio Attorney General (OAG)
sent a letter to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on March 2, 2005
inquiring on the status of the settlement. The DOJ replied on March 11,
2005 saying that DOE was making progress and would get back to the OAG
as soon as possible. Johnny stated that DOE hopes to be able to assemble
a settlement package and send it to the OAG and Ohio EPA soon. The fact
that a package has been assembled and moved "up the line" in DOE is a
huge accomplishment.

Johnny notified the group that it appears that there is buy-in from DOE
at the headquarters level on the 7 point document that the CAB, along
with OEPA and local DOE, signed last December outlining the vision of
the site. Draft language has been generated to be put into Volume 2 of
the LMIC, Section 2.1.3.1, which acknowledges the desired vision for the
site includes an education center as an institutional control. A
document containing this language was passed around. Johnny noted that
this language was draft and could be eliminated from the final document,
but he is hopeful it will be included in the final version.

Doug emphasized the importance of DOE headquarters giving their blessing
to the 7 point document. The fact that DOE is saying that they will work
to make sure these principles are reflected in the resolution of the NRD
settlement is a really good deal. This means that they agree that the
long-term education of this community isn't just a nice thing to do, but
a necessary requirement. The group agreed that this is a huge step.

There was some discussion and agreement around how hard Johnny Reisling
has worked on getting headquarters to understand the issues of
importance to the CAB.

# Fernald Living History (FLH) Update - Edwa Yocum

FLH, Inc. has secured an office space, in which it could store artifacts
and other resources. Another round of living history interviews will
start soon, and Edwa encouraged the group to suggest any potential
interviewees to FLH. FLH would like to have DOE folks in the interview
pool. FLH is going to try to refocus itself as a historical society by
reorganizing its purpose and mission statement, and getting more active
in collecting information. FLH will have a booth with artifacts and
possibly some interviews going on at Crosby Day on May 22, 2005.

# Future Access to Site

David Bidwell reviewed the major points surrounding the issue of site
access and the perimeter fence. At the last meeting of the Stewardship
Committee it appeared that there was a real difference in opinion and
understanding between individuals on the level of site access and where
the access points will be. A diagram that showed potential access points
was shared with the group. The group discussed the pros and cons of
different access points.

The access issue, and the lack of consensus around it, is representative
of where the closure process is currently. Many things are undecided and
there is some frustration around when decisions will happen and how much
input people will be able to provide. LM assured the group that there
will continue to be public input processes during the transition period
from the CAB to the LSO, and once the LSO has been formed. Public input
will be used in conjunction with expertise from professionals to make
decisions about the site.

Pam Dunn recommended that there be a serious discussion about transition
issues so that everyone knows what is happening on the site, when and
how to expect things to happen. Jim Bierer stated that he would feel
more comfortable with simple assurances that public input will be
gathered at critical stages. Other group members agreed. Jane Powell
assured the group that DOE will continue to be here, and will continue
to gather public input, have conversations with interested parties, and
look to the LSO to help determine how to proceed with management of the
site.

Doug Sarno and David Bidwell helped the group to frame these issues by
making the following points:

-   The issue of access falls into the category of the things that are
    going to have to be decided in the future because there isn't enough
    information yet.

-   Everyone is still unsure about what access will look like post
    closure.

-   Some people are going to be uncomfortable with the site no matter
    how clean it is, and those perceptions may take a long time to
    change, or may never change.

-   Community members agree that the general public should not have
    access to the site while silos wastes are still on site

-   Many other issues are going to need to be decided during the
    transition from the CAB to the LSO and after the LSO is fully
    functioning and the CAB is disbanded. The FCAB should help LM put
    together a transition plan for public input that makes sense to
    everyone and makes the best use of that input.

David closed the meeting by encouraging everyone to come to the CAB
meeting on Saturday.

# Next Meeting

An educators' roundtable discussion will be held on May 12, 2005, in
place of a regular Stewardship Committee meeting. The regular committee
meeting will resume in June.