Flying Site Assistance
Joe Beshar | [email protected]
Doing more than talk ...
On February 10, 2005, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) formed a partnership with the Academy of Model Aeronautics (AMA) to support communities interested in flying model airplanes on cleaned-up Superfund sites. The details are described in the AMA document "How to Explore EPA Superfund Sites as Possible Model Aircraft Flying Fields."
Under the partnership, the EPA works with AMA clubs and site stakeholders to identify cleaned-up Superfund sites suitable for use as model airplane flying fields.
To help educate the public about Superfund site reuse and the EPA–AMA partnership, the EPA is developing a new video, "Soaring the Superfund Skies." The project is a short (10 to 15 minute) video that provides general information about Superfund site reuse, with a focus on reusing Superfund sites as flying fields for local AMA clubs.
The video will be tailored to audiences that may be unfamiliar with the concept of Superfund reuse, including:
- Site owners
- Local government officials
- Parties responsible for the clean-up
- AMA members
- Other site stakeholders
The video is intended to inform viewers about reuse opportunities and how they might become involved. While it will concentrate on the use of appropriate sites for aeromodeling activities, the EPA will meet with the AMA to clarify roles and responsibilities for the production.
Initial filming took place on October 14, 2007, at the Ocean County Modelers RC club flying site, Wiskow Field, a Superfund site in Jackson, New Jersey. In attendance among many of the Ocean County Modelers were:
- Allen Hoover, video director
- Hank Seltzer and John Harris, E2, Inc.
- Melissa Friedland, EPA National Superfund program manager
- Dave Brown, AMA president
- Dave Mathewson, AMA District II vice president
- Bruce Giumara, AMA flying site assistance volunteer
- Bob Miceli, Ocean County Modelers president
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
