Environmental Cleanup Communication and Outreach Initiative

The Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense (ODASD), Environmental Management and Restoration (EM&R), launched the Department of Defense (DoD) Environmental Cleanup Communication and Outreach (ECCO) Initiative in the fall of 2022. At its core, ECCO seeks to evaluate and refine existing communication methods currently used by the military departments during the environmental cleanup process to enhance dialogue and engagement with community residents, Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) members, environmental regulators, and other stakeholders. DoD is developing the tools needed to convey environmental cleanup information to the public and affected communities through interactions with RABs, community outreach events, and print, web, and social media channels.

During the first year, the ECCO Initiative featured installation visits and in-person attendance at Restoration Advisory Board meetings and other public forums by DoD representatives. Additionally, one-on-one interviews were conducted with community members and stakeholders to garner voluntary input on communication-related matters.

Input helped DoD:

• Identify best practices and highlight opportunities for collaboration and better public engagement with communities.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of DoD’s current public outreach and communication efforts.
• Enhance methods for communicating about environmental cleanup to ensure transparency.
• Expand public access to information that explains cleanup progress and initiatives.
• Increase participation at local Restoration Advisory Board meetings.
• Build stronger relationships with communities and agency partners.

During its second year, the ECCO Initiative is focused on translating key observations and feedback from installation visits and community interviews into actionable tools, underscoring DoD’s commitment to responsiveness and transparency.

ECCO Initiative next steps:

• Developing an online and print version of a CERCLA brochure to describe how DoD follows this process.
• Examining the TAPP process and streamlining the application so TAPP can be more widely used and implemented.
• Monitoring an online community questionnaire so that all community and RAB members have an opportunity to voluntarily provide feedback if they were not part of the in-person interview process.
• Developing communication templates so that frequent communication about local cleanup efforts can be routinely published on installation websites.
• Identifying risk communication training for installation personnel.
• Refining the navigation and reducing the technical content currently on the DoD PFAS website to enhance a user’s experience with the site.
• Developing and promulgating throughout the military departments best practices for conducting Open Houses or community meetings.

ECCO Flyer

ECCO Interim Report, March – May 2023

ECCO Installation Visits Summary, March - October 2023

Community Member Communication Questionnaire