Steve Vriesen, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Buffalo District programs manager, talks to Armstrong County residents about the Shallow Land Disposal Area during a public information session at the Parks Township Fire Department in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, Sept. 20, 2023. The Shallow Land Disposal Area is a site encompassing 44 acres of privately owned land with 10 trenches of buried radiological and non-radiological waste. The Nation’s early atomic weapons and energy program used the SLDA to dispose low-level radioactive material used for nuclear-powered submarine and power-plant fuel. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for investigating and, when necessary, cleaning up sites throughout the United States associated with nuclear waste. USACE contractors expect to begin physical remediation of the Parks Township site in 2025. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh and Buffalo districts co-hosted the information session to update residents of the remediation project plans and to receive feedback from the community before moving ahead with site cleanup. The Buffalo District is the lead for designing and completing the remediation project. The Pittsburgh District is responsible for informing the public of each step as the cleanup project progresses. The districts will host multiple public information sessions throughout the coming years prior to the start of remediation, and welcome comments and questions. Residents who want to submit questions or want to know more about the project can visit the SLDA project page for more information. The Pittsburgh District website provides an interactive guide and answers to frequently asked questions: https://www.lrp.usace.army.mil/Missions/Planning-Programs-Project-Management/Key-Projects/Shallow-Land-Disposal-Area (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Pittsburgh District photo by Michel Sauret)