Westside Resident Works on Cleaning up Contamination on US Military Bases

By: Claudie Benjamin, Guest Writer

The enormity of environmental issues caused by haphazard dumping, burning and unacceptable disposal of hazardous waste materials is staggering. Such practices resulted in pollution and contamination of air, land and water resources, and continued unabated until 1980, with the passage of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This policy addressed national concern and specified requirements for cleanup and remediation of hazardous materials at abandoned waste sites. The Department of Defense (DoD), however, began cleaning up contamination in 1975 under the Installation Restoration Program. Since then, the DoD has remediated contamination caused by former munitions and hazardous waste disposal on military bases throughout the United States including Guam, Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The multi- year remediation process is typically contracted to non-governmental companies that perform environmental studies, chemical contaminant sampling, and remediation actions. Every five years, a report is published, appropriately named the Five-Year Review, and is required at all military installations where a Record of Decision allows hazardous substances, pollutants, or contaminants to remain in place above levels that allow for unlimited use or unrestricted exposure.

As a lead author of the Five-Year Reviews, Tracey S. Holloway, is open about sharing her experiences working for an environmental company that is a contractor for the DoD. She moved to Charleston, SC about a year ago and works for one of the few companies that specialize in environmental cleanup of munitions and chemical contamination at US military bases. Her title is Environmental Regulatory and Compliance Specialist and her employer, Ho‘olaulima Government Solutions, a subsidiary of the Kina‘ole Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit Native Hawaiian Organization (NHO) based in San Antonio, TX.

Addressing contamination for a particular site includes engaging with the military installation, multiple federal agencies and local state regulators.  The remedial actions taken at the site  may include installation of engineered landfill caps and groundwater in-situ injection treatment, and air, soil and groundwater sampling. Holloway reviews all reports and actions performed during the five-year period and analyzes the chemical sampling data to ensure levels remain below acceptable limits. Finally, she reports the degree to which the contamination is being remediated or removed from the environment.

Tracey feels rewarded in working on the side of solutions and contributing to the protection of human health and the environment. Her  prior experiences in public policy  positioned her at each step of her education and career to be recruited for different roles at the international, federal and local state level.  For the last five years, she has specialized in  environmental policy and reporting the process and outcomes of remediation efforts. While she works remotely much of the time, Tracey’s position requires travel to the military installation sites to conduct a visual inspection,  To date, she has performed Five-Year Reviews for ten military bases located across the continent, Hawaii and Puerto Rico.

Originally from North Carolina, Tracey has Charleston family ties that extend over 200 years. It was during her undergraduate years at NC A&T State University that she realized she was drawn to public policy and later earned a graduate degree from the University of Denver in environmental policy. From early on, she impressed leaders with her enthusiasm, keen interest and aptitude for this important work, including U.S. Diplomats, Rosa Whitaker and Bisa Williams-Manigualt, who became her early mentors. The list of organizations who recruited her is  impressive, beginning with a U.S. Foreign Service internship with the State Department at the American Embassy in Paris, France, and later working for two years as a United Nations Volunteer on environmental protection policy  in Liberia, West Africa.  Back in the U.S., Tracey joined The Whitaker Group in Washington, DC and years later became Legislative Affairs Officer in the Executive Office of Michael  Regan, then Secretary of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality.  Today, he is the Administrator of the EPA, a cabinet-level position in the current administration. The earlier foreign assignments gave Tracey the opportunity to visit many places in Europe and Africa, encouraging a love of travel that knows no bounds.

Close to her family, Tracey is also very proud of her ancestry. Tracey’s great grandfather, Ransom Hunter, was freed sometime before the end of slavery.  A successful entrepreneur, farmer and owner of livery stables, he purchased 2000 acres of land in Gaston County, North Carolina creating a town he called “Freedom”. It encompassed parts of what is known today as the city of Mt. Holly. In 2017, Tracey’s family created The Ransom Hunter Foundation and self-funded STEM training for adolescents, exposing them to computer coding as an option for future education and career. Brandon Bellamy, the first Black owner of a team franchise in professional baseball read about Ransom Hunter and was inspired by him. In 2018, as an homage he named his local North Carolina team, the Gastonia Honey Hunters.

Now, just finished writing one Five-Year Review report and soon to begin another assignment, Tracey spends time researching subjects like pre-Columbian history of North America, which fascinates her, and walking her dog, Kona. She enjoys exploring the parks, coffee shops and eateries in her Westside neighborhood. She visits points of interest in the city and often meets up with friends at her current favorite oyster bars, The Darling, Leon’s, and 167 Raw.

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