Kirtland AFB News:
Guidance for the Air Force ERP requires a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) assessment be conducted every two years at installations where a formal RAB does not exist.
The assessment will determine if there is adequate and sustained community and stakeholder interest in forming a RAB. In addition, an update to the Community Relations Plan (CRP) is occurring, and ensures the community outreach and information sharing approach continues to meet the information needs of the community around Kirtland AFB.
The Kirtland AFB Environmental Restoration Program (ERP) holds joint semi-annual public meetings with the U.S. Department of Energy and Sandia National Laboratories, in addition to regular public meetings conducted for the Bulk Fuels Facility project.
These meetings allow public participation and involvement in the Air Force restoration programs to meet regulatory and permit requirements.
A RAB is intended to improve public information and participation by sharing project updates with and receiving input from interested and impacted communities. If established, this RAB could include community volunteer members, regulatory agencies, members from other local government agencies, tribal entities, and the installation. For appointment as a community RAB member, the appointee must live or work in the affected community or be affected by the Kirtland AFB ERP activities.
RAB members will be asked to meet regularly for activities including, but not limited to reviewing and commenting on environmental documents and activities for all Kirtland AFB ERP projects.
The semi-annual joint DOD/DOE meetings and the Bulk Fuels Facility cleanup meetings that are currently being held would be replaced by the RAB if a RAB were to be established. RABs can influence cleanup decisions through discussion and valuable input provided to installation decision makers, but they do not make restoration decisions. All RAB meetings will be open to the public.
The Air Force recognizes the importance of stakeholder and community participation. A CRP is used to capture the public participation schedule and strategy used by Kirtland AFB during Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) corrective actions. Activities conducted as part of developing the RCRP, such as the survey included in this mailer, are used to identify, and determine the public’s level of interest in the cleanup activities being conducted.
The RCRP also identifies the issues and concerns of the community, as well as the methods by which Kirtland AFB will employ, or continue to use, to share information with the local, interested community.
Your information will be reviewed and used only by Kirtland AFB and will not be shared with third party entities. Fill out the questions at https://forms.office.com/r/