Restoration Advisory Board

Project Priorization

As part of the ongoing efforts to involve the public in the munitions response actions at the Former Lowry Bombing and Gunnery Range (FLBGR), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha District (USACE) and Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE) initiated a prioritization process to obtain public input on cleanup priorities for the site. Due to the size of the FLBGR, the number of areas requiring munitions response activities, funding limitations, etc., the completion of munitions response activities will require many years. Recognizing this, the USACE and CDPHE team felt that it was essential to have strong public involvement when deciding which areas of the range will be addressed first. While the USACE and CDPHE have the ultimate responsibility for directing the cleanup efforts, public input is considered invaluable, especially since immediate concerns for public safety have already been addressed.

A Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meeting was held in September 2003 at which the meeting attendees engaged in a facilitated brainstorming session to develop criteria for prioritizing areas. A total of nine criteria were developed and defined.

Next, the RAB used a multi-voting technique to select the most important criteria. Using the results of the voting, a weighting factor was calculated for each criterion by dividing the number of votes received by the total number of votes cast. The nine criteria and associated weighting factors are given in the following table.

In the next step of the process, the Technical Assistance for Public Participation (TAPP) contractor, with input from other project team members as required, evaluated each of the twelve known AOCs against the nine criteria above. Each area was assigned preliminary raw scores for each criterion. The raw scores were assigned using professional judgement to balance the components of each criteria. For example, when assigning the Overall Hazard scores, areas in close proximity to schools were given higher scores than areas presenting similar hazards away from schools.

The raw scores were multiplied by the weighting factors provided in the table above and then added to obtain a total score for each AOC. As indicated by the above mentioned table, four of the nine criteria received no votes. Therefore, no weight was given to these four criteria in the final scoring. However, each AOC was given a score for each of the nine criteria (including the ones with no weight factor) because the AOC scoring and priorities are reviewed annually. Therefore, the zero weighting factors may change. The scores for each AOC are in order of priority on the right in the RAB Areas of Concern Prioritization.

Following the TAPP contractor’s preliminary scoring of the twelve known AOCs, the scoring was presented for further discussion at the January 2004 RAB meeting. This discussion resulted in a consensus on the scoring and thus, on the relative prioritization of the twelve AOCs. The table below shows the current prioritization. The score cards for each known AOC can be accessed by clicking on each area of concern listed to the right. The score cards are in Adobe Acrobat format, which requires the Adobe Acrobat Reader to view. If you do not have the free Adobe Acrobat reader plugin installed, click on the logo on the right hand side of this page to download.

At a minimum, the prioritization criteria and the weighting factors are reviewed by the RAB on an annual basis, in order to take into account changing site conditions. However, if issues arise on the site that may affect the prioritization (i.e. new development near an AOC, high-hazard munitions that were not previously expected, etc.), then the prioritization may be revisited more frequently, as needed.

Although these prioritizations will guide the efforts of the USACE/CDPHE, there may be instances where, for operational reasons, it is necessary to deviate from this prioritization. The USACE/CDPHE are committed to keeping the RAB advised of any such changes.