I. Introduction:

Anniston Army Depot (ANAD) is in Calhoun County, which is located in northeastern Alabama. The depot is 110 miles west of Atlanta, Georgia, and 50 miles east of Birmingham, Alabama. ANAD in the County's Government's Jurisdiction. ANAD is surrounded by a series of small communities clustered primarily along the southern and eastern boundaries of the depot and is bordered on the north by Pelham Range an Alabama National Guard training facility. The depot is comprised of approximately 15,319 acres.

The ammunition storage bunkers within the Ammunition Storage Area (ASA) occupy the majority of the depot. The Southeast Industrial Area (SIA) contains the depot's industrial facilities. Additional areas, primarily along the depot's southern boundary, are allocated for warehouse storage, fuel storage, administrative services, and recreation. ANAD is one of the major employers in the Anniston area. Land use around ANAD is primarily rural, residential, and crop land/pasture and mixed forest.

The U.S. Army has been operating the depot at Anniston since 1941. During the operation period, the depot mission has included the storage of munitions and the refurbishment, testing, and decommissioning of combat vehicles and various types of ordnance.

The initial mission for the U.S. Army Depot at Anniston was defined as munitions storage. Construction operations for the depot were formally initiated on February 17, 1941, and the first ammunition storage magazines were completed on October 3, 1941. During World War II, the mission of the depot was expanded to include a combat equipment storage area, where over 1,230,000 tons of equipment was handled.

Over the years, ANAD's mission was further expanded to include overhaul and repair of ordnance vehicles; fire control and small arms rebuild (gained from the Augusta Arsenal which was closed in 1954); modification of M4SAl tanks and M67 flame throwers; calibration support for the southeastern states; and logistics support for the Lance missile, Tube Launched Optically Tracked Wire guided missile (TOW) systems, and the Dragon missile. The bulk of this work was conducted in the Southeast Industrial Area (SIA) and the Ammunition Storage Area.

The present mission of ANAD includes maintaining combat vehicles such as the M-1 Abrams tank, M-60 and M-113 series as well as towed and self-propelled artillery. It also includes the storage and demilitarization of conventional munitions, recycling of missiles.

ANAD's mission requires the use of various industrial processes, such as plating, painting, degreasing, sand blasting, paint stripping, steam cleaning, etc. These activities at ANAD since 1941 have contributed to the Contaminants Of Concern (COCs). The most wide spread COCs are industrial wastes, including spent solvents, heavy metal and petroleum oil/lubricants, as well as explosive contamination.

II. Installation Restoration Program

ANAD is participating in the U.S. Department of Defense Installation Restoration Program (IRP), which was established in 1978 to identify and evaluate past U. S. Department of Defense hazardous waste sites and to control the migration of hazardous contaminants from these sites. Numerous studies have been conducted to support the IRP as well as other environmental management programs. These studies have provided information used to assess contaminant source areas, modify certain waste management practices, and implement remedial actions.

III. National Priorities List

The National Priorities List (NPL) is U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) list of the nation's highest priority hazardous waste sites identified for possible long-term cleanup action. The Southeast Industrial Area of ANAD was placed on the NPL in 1989 because of soil and groundwater contamination caused by onsite disposal of industrial chemicals during the 1950 through 1981 time periods.

IV. Federal Facilities Agreement

In June 1990, ANAD entered into a Federal Facilities Agreement (FFA) with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) and EPA to establish a procedural framework and schedule for developing, implementing, and monitoring appropriate response actions to contamination problems at the Southeast Industrial Area and other areas of ANAD, including the Ammunition Storage Area, which is not on the National Priorities List. The FFA identified 44 solid waste management units within ANAD, 15 in the ASA and 29 in the SIA. Four (4) additional Solid Waste Management Units (SWMU) have been added making a total of 48.

V. Public Participation

In 1993, a Technical Review Committee (TRC) was formed to address ANAD's cleanup concerns. The TRC includes representation from ANAD, EPA, ADEM, local governmental activities, community environmental groups and concerned citizens. A decision was made to convert the TRC into a RAB in December 1997. The first RAB meeting was held May 21, 1998.

VI. Teamwork and Dedication

A partnering team was formed at ANAD in April 1997, which includes representatives from ANAD, Mobile District Corps of Engineers (CESAM), ADEM, EPA Region IV and the U.S. Army Environmental Command (USAEC) is also a member of the partnering team. This is not a legal binding relationship, but a commitment and an agreement between the parties to work together to achieve mutually beneficial goals. The ANAD partnering team's mission statement is as follows:

“The mission of the Installation Restoration Program is to work together in an innovative and efficient manner to protect human health and the environment of the ANAD and the impacted surrounding communities”

VII. Projected Dates

• Remedial Actions in Place2017
• IPR Completion (including O&M, LTM)2047
• Removal from NPL2047

Environmental program documents are maintained at the following Repositories:

Anniston Calhoun County Public Library
108 East 10th Street
P.O. Box 308
Anniston, AL 36202
(Information repository only)

Anniston Army Depot
Directorate of Risk Management
7 Frankford Avenue
Anniston, AL 36201

Jacksonville State University
Houston Cole Library
Jacksonville, AL 36265
(Information repository only)

For More Information Contact:

Q. What is a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB), its purpose, and when was it established at Anniston Army Depot?

A. It is a forum for citizens of local communities, representatives of an installation and regulatory agencies to discuss and exchange information about the environmental restoration program. This is the sole focus and it is not positioned to discuss other concerns or act as a sounding board for non-restoration environmental issues. Anniston Army Depot’s Restoration Advisory Board held its first meeting in May, 1998.

Q. What are the responsibilities of the RAB?

A. The RAB gives advice on cleanup, conducts regular meetings, discusses key issues, reviews plans and reports, identifies proposed project requirements and recommends priorities.

Q. What is the composition of the RAB? How were the members selected?

A. There are approximately 10 current voting members representing the diverse makeup of our community. The membership includes representatives of affected community interests and/or groups, interested individuals, local governmental agency officials, installation representatives, state and federal agencies as well as other interested parties. Representatives from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA Region 4) and Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) regularly attends these meetings. Co-chairpersons are Commander, Anniston Army Depot and a civilian RAB member elected by the RAB members representing the civilian community. When the process first began, a variety of methods were used to interest the public in applying for membership. Flyers were printed and distributed; announcements were made in local press and the local cable channel carried it as a Public Service Announcement. Subsequent mailings were prepared, soliciting interest and applications for membership. The mailings were random, however citizens who were leaders and involved in their community organizations such as church pastors, neighborhood club leaders, youth group leaders, small business owners, etc were actively sought to be part of this organization. Especially important are residents who will become proactive participants and a link between their neighborhoods and the RAB. Quarterly meetings are held in various community locations.

Q. Can the public attend these meetings?

A. Yes, absolutely. Public attendance is always welcome and a necessary part of the purpose of the RAB. We need to hear the concerns, questions and comments from the community and we want to respond in a timely manner. If a local resident has questions about the installation restoration projects at Anniston Army Depot, the best way to get an answer is to attend one of our meetings and ask. Audience Comment is an agenda item and the input is made part of the official minutes.

Q. How is the meeting conducted?

A. The RAB is a formal organization that is governed by a set of by-laws, which were prepared and adopted by the members. We follow an agenda; a court reporter takes the proceedings verbatim and provides an official transcript, and from this, minutes are extracted, published and distributed. Both the minutes and agenda are available at every meeting for the audience. The RAB members select the topics and guest speakers. The public is welcome to suggest topics related to the groundwater contamination project.

Q. What does the RAB contribute to the community?

A. The RAB increases community understanding, reviews and comments on plans and documents, provides advice, participates in site and project prioritization, and acts as a resource for the community.

Q. In many instances the public is skeptical. Are the full results of the investigations being told to the public, or is just the information you want them to know being provided?

A. Yes, the full results are being shared and are in the public record. Most of us involved in the process make our home here in the community and are raising our families here. We also have a tremendous stake in the cleanup process of the groundwater contamination. The concerns of the public are understandable and valid. These residents have the right to ask the hard questions and expect an answer. This is the main purpose of the quarterly meetings. However, if people choose to not attend the meetings, documentation is available at repositories in the community. All published documents including minutes and transcripts of the meetings can be reviewed at the Anniston Calhoun County Public Library, 108 East 10th St, Anniston, AL 36201. There is also a repository of all published documents including minutes and transcripts at Anniston Army Depot. Houston Cole Library at JSU contains an information repository and you can visit our website at: https://www.anad.army.mil

Q. When is your next meeting? Where do you meet?

A. The meetings are held quarterly at various locations in the community. An announcement will be placed in the local newspapers prior to the meeting specifying the location, date and time. The meetings begin at 6:00 PM and last about an hour and a half. We invite the public to attend and believe they will find the meetings interesting. Notifications of the meetings are placed in the local newspapers and postcards are sent to people on our mailing list. You can get on our mailing list by contacting us at the address provided in the Fact Sheet or by providing us your contact information during the RAB meetings.