A community relations plan provides the guidelines for future community relations activities for an installation. Such a plan is required for all Army properties on or proposed to the National Priorities List (NPL). Installations that are not on or proposed to the NPL are strongly encouraged to establish a community relations plan.

What Is It?
The AEDB-R is a database accessible on the Internet. The restoration module is used Army wide by installations and program managers. The AEDB-R is managed by the US Army Environmental Command (USAEC). AEDB-R provides an automated method to manage, track and query data on activities conducted under the Army's Installation Restoration Program (IRP) and Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) program.

Why?
The Army is required by the Department of Defense (DoD) to submit data semi-annually on the status of the environmental restoration programs. The AEDB-R is the Army's primary means for collecting the required data. The AEDB-R data is used as a source of information for the:

DERP Annual Report to Congress

Program Objective Memorandum

President's Budget

Site-level Cost to Complete

Relative Risk Site Evaluation

IRP Obligation Plans

BRAC Workplan

DoD In-Progress Reviews/Measures of Merit

Installation Action Plans

Program Reviews

What?
The Army's environmental restoration programs are managed and tracked at the site level. The AEDB-R maintains the data for locations on the installations that have been identified through the restoration programs. The AEDB-R also collects data on initiatives that have been implemented to facilitate the investigation and cleanup activities.

1. Site-level data:
   1. General information; Site Description, National Priority List (NPL) status, Site Type, Regulatory Statute, Legal Agreement, Program (IRP or BRAC), Phase Status, and Remedial Action.
   2. Relative Risk Site Evaluation: For specific media (soil, groundwater, surface water, etc.); maximum contaminant concentration, likelihood of contaminant migration, and present or future contaminant receptors. The AEDB-R derives a relative risk category, of high, medium, or low, for the site based on the entered data.
   3. Funding: Cost to Complete, Requirement spread and programmed spread for a phase to be executed at a site in a given fiscal year. Funding obligation amounts are also collected for prior years.
   4. Military Munitions Response Program: AEDB-R was modified to collect site-level data on military munitions response conducted as part of the DERP.
2. Installation-level data:
   1. Record of Decision/Decision Document: Document Title, Document Type, Action Type (interim or final), and Signature dates for Headquarters, MACOM, Installation, and/or Regulatory Agency.
   2. Restoration Advisory Board: Establishment date or Reason Not Established, Membership, and Activities.
   3. BRAC: Property transfer and lease documentation dependent on environmental condition of property.
   4. Remedial Action Five Year Review: Identification of ROD or DDs with requirement to review the site conditions. Collect Scheduled Date, Actual Review Date and Responsible Party information.
   5. Land Use Control Information

When?
An AEDB-R data call is conducted semi-annually. Data is entered and maintained at the installation level. Data is submitted to USAEC. USAEC conducts final data review and submits to DoD.

The AEDB-R is a secure application and requires user to have a password to access the data. Requests for a user account are submitted by the installation/BRAC Field Office to the USAEC.

The Office of the Deputy Undersecretary of Defense for Environmental Security (ODUSD[ES]) established restoration goals for DERP using a risk management concept with RRSEs. The RRSE uses common standards and rating definitions for all military services to ensure uniform categorization DoD-wide and ensure restoration work across DoD is generally sequenced first at sites that pose the most risk to human health and the environment. The RRSE is not a substitute for a baseline risk assessment or health assessment, nor is it a means of placing sites into a "no further action" category.

The categorization of IRP sites into relative risk groups is based on an evaluation of contaminants, pathways and human and ecological receptors in ground water, surface water, sediment and surface soils. Evaluations of these factors at a site are combined to place the site into an overall category of "high," "medium" or "low" relative risk.

RRSEs are required for all sites with ongoing IRP activities and should be performed with available site data. Using the RRSE module in AEDB-R, installations evaluate each AEDB-R site with available data. Installations review RRSE data when AEDB-R is updated semi-annually. DoD uses relative risk to track the Army's progress in site cleanup; therefore, it is important to reevaluate the relative risk of sites for each AEDB-R data call, particularly for those sites where remediation has taken place.

The term "Cost-to-Complete" (CTC) refers to the estimated cost for future cleanup of environmental contamination. It also includes response actions to address unexploded ordnance (UXO), discarded military munitions (DMM), and munitions constituents (MC)) at past and present DoD sites. CTC estimates for Army environmental cleanup projects are used for several purposes including support planning, programming, budgeting and execution process submissions; to estimate environmental liabilities; to track cost avoidance measures implemented by the Army installations; and to report future program requirements. CTC estimates are subject to financial management and accounting standards and to subsequent financial audit.

CTC estimates form the basis of the environmental liabilities reported in the Army's Annual Financial Statement in compliance with the Chief Financial Officer Act. In addition, CTC estimates must comply with DoD FMR 7000.14-R. This regulation requires documentation of data sources and methods of estimation and management review of CTC estimates. The FMR stipulates that CTC estimates are subject to audit. Therefore, information used to develop CTC estimates for the Army environmental cleanup programs is subject to audit by the Department of Defense Inspector General.

Army guidance requires installations to prepare annual CTC estimates for each site in the program. DoD guidance requires Army personnel engaged in the development of cost-to-complete estimates or preparation of environmental restoration liability reports to have formal training.

A RAB is a forum of representatives of the DoD, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), state and local government and the affected community. RAB members provide input to the installation commander concerning environmental cleanup at military installations. The RAB reflects the diverse makeup of the community, gives all stakeholders the opportunity to participate in the cleanup process and make their views known to decision makers.

Per 10 USC 2705(C), a TRC is established whenever possible and practical to review and comment on the Army's actions with respect to releases or threatened releases of hazardous substances at installations. TRC meetings serve as working sessions for exchanging information and organizational viewpoints on operational progress, recommended applicable or relevant and appropriate requirements (ARARs), problems and scheduling. Members of a TRC include at least one representative from the Army and appropriate USEPA, state and local authorities, and a public representative(s) of the local community(s). The installation commander is responsible for establishing and chairing or designating an installation/Army chairperson for the TRC. Many TRCs have converted to RABs.

TAPP is a DoD program that provides community members of RABs and TRCs access to independent technical support through use of government purchase orders. Community members of the RAB or TRC apply to the Installation Commander for independent assistance in interpreting scientific and engineering issues with regard to the nature of environmental hazards and restoration activities at the installation.

The Department of Defense is required to submit the Defense Environmental Restoration Program (DERP) Annual Report to Congress (ARC) that describes the accomplishments during the previous fiscal year. The ARC is required by Section 120(e)(5) of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) that applies to all Federal facilities and Section 211 of SARA, as amended on 10 Nov 93, which pertains to the DERP. The report outlines progress made in carrying out environmental restoration activities at military installations. Included in the report are success stories highlighting significant DERP activities and initiatives; narrative summaries for NPL, proposed NPL and major BRAC installations; and the status of the cleanup at installations with sites in the DERP.

Army issued updated DERP management guidance in November 2004 that supersedes program guidance last provided in 1999. The new guidance incorporates significant operational changes dictated by the Army's Transformation of Installation Management reorganization and progressive management initiatives implemented since 1999. The guidance is contained in two documents that supplement Army Regulation 200-1 and Department of the Army Pamphlet 200-1 and detail the management of the Army's environmental restoration programs at active and BRAC installations, respectively. The Army Defense Environmental Restoration Program Management Guidance for Active Installations applies to Army activities located within the United States and its territories. The Army Defense Environmental Restoration Program Management Guidance for Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) Installations applies to Army facilities funded by the Base Closure Account.

The key document in the management and execution of the IRP is the IAP. It outlines the total multiyear integrated, coordinated approach to achieving an installation's restoration goals. The plan is used by USAEC, MACOMs/major subordinate commands (MSCs) and installations to monitor requirements, schedules and budgets.

For each site within AEDB-R, the IAP documents IRP requirements, the rationale for the technical approach and corresponding financial requirements. Prior year funding and tentative cost estimates through the entire remedial process are included. Estimates of cost must be fully supportable, either using a cost estimating model or engineered estimate.

The IAP contains the IRP history, current AEDB-R status, contaminants of concern, response actions taken and past milestones, as well as possible future response actions.