Josh Mengers, ETEC's federal project director, thanked the community for attending the recent CONNECT Series meeting, which featured a special presentation from Ventura County Fire Department. He also shared activities and upcoming community engagement.
Energy Technology Engineering Center
September 22, 2026
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I want to thank those who joined us for a special CONNECT Series meeting on August 12, where we got to recognize the Ventura County Fire Department for protecting the community and the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) during the recent Sandy Fire.
Division Chief Matt Falat gave a special presentation on county fire response in general and in relation to SSFL, how incident command works and what happens when a call comes into the 911 system.
Thank you, Chief Falat, for taking the time to share some great information with us.
I also talked about ETEC’s response during the Sandy Fire and shared some preliminary air monitoring results from before, during and after the incident. Read more about the CONNECT meeting.
As part of the CONNECT meeting, I had the opportunity to discuss recent updates on a groundwater treatment pilot study, the automated pump system installed in 2024 and the demolition workplan for Building 4024’s basement.
We continue to collaborate with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to move our cleanup forward – seeking approval for our basement demolition workplan, finalizing our Groundwater Corrective Measures Study, and addressing the longstanding implementation challenges with the 2010 Administrative Order on Consent.
We remain committed to achieving a protective cleanup at the site and will share updates with the community as we continue to make progress.
We look forward to continuing to engage with our community and will be attending the Simi Valley Street Fair on October 24. Stop by our booth to say hi, ask us questions and learn more about what’s going on at SSFL.
Sincerely,
Dr. Josh Mengers