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If you live in or near Newport, Rhode Island, you’ll know that — besides the unique vistas, boating events, mansions and histories — our seaside areas have long been important sites for U.S. Navy ship bases, training and R&D. But especially after the huge needs of World War II, these key Navy roles left behind a lot of contaminated clutter: dumps that contained God knows what … huge ship-fuel tanks and miles of pipelines with oil sludge … remains of hydraulic pumps, fire-fighting fluids and electrical gear … buildings and shore areas with asbestos, lead, arsenic and other stuff now known to be unsafe to people.
Especially since the 1990s, there have been Federal and state mandates, and modest funds, to remove or bury safely such contaminants, so that these areas can be re-used or at least not endanger nearby lives. The Navy has teams of experienced environmental specialists and contractors who come here to identify where the most serious contaminants are, and to plan and monitor the cleanups. They work closely with counterparts from the Environmental Protection Agency, the RI Department of Environmental Management, and health-related agencies. These specialists don’t just sit in the comforts of their home offices; much of their work is out there on the actual sites, sloshing around in boots, toting equipment, digging beneath the surfaces, taking measurements, and shaping plans about which spots to attend to first, and in what ways.
Also mandated are Restoration Advisory Boards to enable nearby residents, leaders, officials and news media to meet with these specialists to learn what contaminants are being found, and what remedies are proposed, These local RAB members help to spread this information to nearby neighborhoods and other key groups. They help fashion the cleanups to mesh better with adjacent land-use patterns and plans, water flows and life qualities. Old-timers on the RABs sometimes help the specialists to know what contaminants have been left where.
The Restoration Advisory Board for Naval Station Newport has been one of the most productive RABs in the region, ever since it was formed in 1995. Our RAB meets every two months in a convenient motel conference room. Each meeting has updates and a special briefing blended with opportunities to ask questions, offer suggestions, and add information. Rather than win-lose debates or tricky talk tactics, emphasis is on constructive, focused yet relaxed interactions between locals and the specialists.
Genuine friendships among capable, well motivated people are formed at our RAB meetings. To take part in these two-hour sessions is a great way for a budding citizen-leader to gain experience in civic interactions. And for a young professional to learn first-hand the ins-and-outs of what environmental cleanup specialists do. And for a town official or commission member to mesh with the Navy about what can best happen along the west coast of Newport, Middletown or Portsmouth, or on Jamestown’s Gould Island.
I have found the RAB to be one of my most fulfilling “causes” … have been a member ever since its 1995 founding … was its Community Co-chairman, 2016-21. The current Community Co-chairman is Henry Stueber, a retired Navy officer who lives in Newport and well understands neighborhood and shore-area concerns, email hbstueber@comcast.net. The Navy Co-chairman, David Dorocz, has long experience as Environmental Director for Naval Station Newport, email david.d.dorocz.civ@us.navy.mil.
It takes a long time to pinpoint contaminants, weigh cleanup options, and complete the work. Along the way, new concerns have shown up, like PFAS in soil and water near former fire-suppression systems. There is growing awareness of need to take into account the climate-related changes in our shore lines and storm-water runoffs. But the end seems in sight these next few years.
In this web page I have brought together more details about the Navy Newport sites and recent examples of what we learn and do at our Restoration Advisory Board meetings.
Dave Brown Middletown RI November 2024
Here is the Navy’s website about the Environmental Restoration Program at Naval Station Newport.
And Site Descriptions of the tank farms, land fills, pier areas, etc.
They include a useful map and summaries of the histories of the sites — previous uses by the Navy, contaminants found, cleanups thus far. Most of the sites are along “Burma Road” on the western side of Aquidneck Island. One is at the North end of Gould Island, near Jamestown.
Here is background about the roles and standards of EPA and RIDEM specialists in this work.
And here are two reliable sources about human health hazards of site contaminants:
U.S. Dept of Health ATSDR (Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry) Specialists and MDs from ATSDR provided level-headed assessments and explanations.
Our Navy Newport Restoration Advisory Board meetings center around 1) updates of studies, decisions and actions for all the sites, then 2) we have a briefing and discussion about a specific site or aspect.
But not to worry if some of this sounds complex. The specialists at our RAB meetings welcome our questions and make every effort to explain things in terms that we “locals” can understand, sometimes with a healthy bit of humor woven in!
And the Navy has been placing key materials related to the sites and cleanups in the public libraries of Jamestown, Newport, Middletown, and Portsmouth for future reference needs.
The RAB normally meets 6:30pm, the third Wednesday every two months. To be there in person is much better than by webinar if you can make it. The usual place is at the Sonesta Select hotel, 9 Commerce Drive, westward from West Main Road, in Middletown.
Watch for the next meeting announcement and location in Newport This Week, Newport Daily News, Portsmouth Times, Jamestown Press, Patch.com, local libraries, and relays via some other outlets.
If you’d like to be on the email list for RAB meeting notices, discussion materials, and special cleanup feed-outs, let Navy’s David Dorocz know — david.d.dorocz.civ@us.navy.mil.
