Media Contact: Thomas Mullen
Phone: (310) 795-4196
E-mail: [email protected]
JUNE 22, 2017
LOS ANGELES - SmartComment has been hired to help environmental regulators solicit and manage public input related to a comprehensive federal environmental investigation and cleanup currently under way at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Ventura County.
The cleanup at the former rocket engine test and nuclear facility outside Simi Valley is being conducted by Boeing, the United States Department of Energy (DOE) and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The process is being overseen by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), which will use SmartComment's digital platform to accept and respond to comments from citizens, organizations, businesses, and outside agencies.
"It's imperative that public engagement is at the center of any cleanup as sensitive as this, and we take our responsibility to foster communication between the cleanup team and the community very seriously," said Tim Mullen, co-founder of SmartComment. "By embracing a modern approach to interfacing with area residents and stakeholders, regulators will have access to real-time citizen input and be able to respond to specific areas of concern as efficiently and effectively as possible."
Closed since 2006, Santa Susana is the site of intensive soils investigations and cleanup, groundwater cleanup and monitoring, hazardous materials and waste handling, air quality testing and radiation cleanup program.
SmartComment will work with DTSC staff and its environmental consultants at ESA to accept, analyze and respond to public comments regarding the plan. In addition to setting up a website to accept comments from the public, SmartComment's powerful suite of tools allows the project team to organize comments by topic, location, and other criteria, and to efficiently respond to them.