Envoy Program Connects Portsmouth Site With Neighbors

Envoy Lead Cindi Remy, right, visits Betty Coleman, a fence line neighbor who participates in the Portsmouth Site’s Envoy Program. Envoys typically keep in touch with their fence line neighbors through phone calls, emails and home visits.

PIKE COUNTY, Ohio — A good neighbor who is there to help when needed can make all the difference.

Through its Envoy Program, the Portsmouth Site aims to be such a neighbor to dozens of residents and other property owners along the site’s fence line. The program started as a way to establish an open line of communication with neighbors of the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Environmental Management (EM) cleanup site.

“The Envoy Program has helped build important relationships with our neighbors living closest to the site,” Portsmouth Site Lead Jeremy Davis said. “These relationships have been reciprocally beneficial as the cleanup project moves forward.”

The program consists of 11 employees. In addition to their jobs at the site, these employees are responsible for keeping in touch with more than 90 fence line neighbors — less than a dozen per employee.

The envoys personally alert the neighbors about road closures, plans to test the public warning siren system and other important information that needs to be shared with them. In turn, the neighbors can reach out to the envoys with questions or requests regarding their properties.

“When you have worked at the site for a while, it’s easy to forget how massive the operation can appear to someone on the outside,” Envoy Team Lead Cindi Remy said. “Our neighbors may need information or have a problem we can help with and not know who to call. With the Envoy Program, we develop a friendly rapport and are consistent in our follow-up.”

Lynn Wilber, an emergency management manager with Fluor-BWXT Portsmouth, EM’s decontamination and decommissioning contractor for the Portsmouth Site, has been a part of the Envoy Program since it was created in 2011. She enjoys meeting with others and, as a neighbor of the site herself, appreciates the efforts to keep the lines of communication open.

“It really gives neighbors the feeling that the site listens to them,” said Wilber. “The one-on-one format makes it easier for neighbors to discuss their questions versus going to a public meeting where they might not feel as comfortable in that setting.”

While the envoys typically alert the neighbors to upcoming work, there are times when they work to help the neighbors solve problems.

“A couple of years ago, we had a neighbor who was having trouble getting their satellite signal because the trees on the Portsmouth Site property had grown too tall and were blocking the signal,” said Remy. “The neighbor worked through his envoy to get the problem solved.”

The program may be a small part of the site’s effort to connect and talk with the local community, but for the envoys, it’s more than just that — it’s about being a good neighbor.