Ecological Risk Assessment Procedures at Vandenberg Air Force Base (2001)

CONCUR was retained by the US Air Force and DTSC in the summer of 2001 to design and mediate a dispute resolution process to get site remediation efforts at Vandenberg back on track. For several years, the California State Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has been working with Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB) in its CERCLA-prescribed site remediation efforts. Last year, Vandenberg and DTSC reached an impasse. They were unable to agree on the specific Toxicity Reference Values (TRVs) — substance-specific toxicity values that indicate danger levels for different species used to guide ecological risk assessment and eventual site cleanup . In risk assessment calculations, TRVs are compared with actual exposure data to determine the level of risk facing particular species on particular sites. Over the recent months, DTSC and VAFB had attempted, both informally and formally, to resolve this issue without success.

CONCUR conducted a situation assessment, interviewing key participants and then used the resulting findings to design a collaborative process. The dispute resolution process involved over 25 participants, representing the US Air Force, DTSC, and the CA Regional Water Quality Control Board.

In a two day session, CONCUR mediated an agreement on a process guiding the determination of a set of mutually acceptable TRVs, assessment endpoints, and measurement endpoints for VAFB ecological risk assessment. This agreement included bringing in third party neutral scientific expertise, and culminated in the signing of a legally binding Cooperative Agreement establishing the procedures for settling on a final set of TRVs and assessment endpoints. CONCUR then helped the parties establish and agree on a series of future steps to implement the Cooperative Agreement. This project is described CONCUR’s article “Better Together: Mediating an End to an Ecological Risk Assessment Dispute at Vandenberg Air Force Base” on mediate.com.