The U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Technology Engineering Center team boosted its recent engagement efforts with visits to local volunteer groups and a tour of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory for Ventura County officials. April 21, 2026
Office of Environmental Management
April 21, 2026
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A group from Ventura County Air Pollution Control District’s Planning, Rules and Incentives Division tours Area IV at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Pamela Hartman, deputy federal project director for Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC), is pictured at left, and Josh Mengers, federal project director for ETEC, is second from left.
SIMI VALLEY, Calif. — The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) team boosted its recent engagement efforts with visits to local volunteer groups and a tour of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) for Ventura County officials.
SSFL is a 2,850-acre former rocket engine and nuclear research facility comprised of four operational areas. DOE’s Office of Environmental Management (EM) is charged with remediation in Area IV, where ETEC previously operated.
ETEC staff attended the Chatsworth Community Coordinating Council, gave a presentation to the Simi Valley Kiwanis Club and did an on-air interview as part of a segment for a local TV news outlet.
At all of these events, ETEC staff shared about the new Community Outreach, Neighbor Notifications, Engagement, Collaboration and Training (CONNECT) Series, and encouraged the public’s attendance to learn more about the cleanup and ask their questions.
“We want to listen to the community, and engaging with them is important as we complete our portion of the cleanup,” said Josh Mengers, EM’s federal project director for ETEC. “Attending events like this is a great way to do that and it also allows us to connect with different groups we may not have reached before.”
Josh Mengers, federal project director for the Energy Technology Engineering Center, shares an overview of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy’s cleanup efforts with the Simi Valley Kiwanis Club.
Local engagement continued earlier this month with a tour of DOE’s Area IV at SSFL for members from the Ventura County Air Pollution Control District’s Planning, Rules and Incentives Division.
Mengers and Pamela Hartman, EM’s deputy federal project director for ETEC, provided a site overview on historical operations and the cleanup, and also answered questions on the air monitoring program, the Sodium Reactor Experiment and the automated groundwater pump system at the Hazardous Materials Storage Area.
The ETEC team has more engagements planned for the weeks ahead.
The team will once again have a booth at the Simi Valley Street Fair on May 2, where the public can meet staff, ask questions and learn about activities at SSFL. There will also be a hands-on activity to build a spectroscope, an optical instrument that splits light into its component colors for analysis.
On May 13, they will host the second CONNECT session in the ETEC office at 980 Enchanted Way, Suite 108, Simi Valley, California, 93065. The public will have the opportunity to engage with staff following a short presentation and suggest ideas for future session topics.
For more information about CONNECT or to reach DOE’s ETEC team, email etec@emcbc.doe.gov.
-Contributor: Melissa Simon
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