DON’T BE SURPRISED if your club is
contacted by the Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) or AMA and offered the
use of landfill property for a model flying
site.
Yes, believe it! As a result of
communication with the EPA in
Washington, I am pleased to advise that
the agency has issued a “Memorandum of
Understanding” outlining a partnership
between the EPA and AMA for the reuse
of Superfund landfill sites for flying fields.
What does this mean? It means AMA
clubs will be at the forefront when landfills
become available and encourage
stakeholders to use them for flying sites. The
plan is to promote AMA when a landfill is
turned over to a stakeholder and bring
attention to the accepted use by the EPA.
In the past we have experienced
questions, reluctance, and resistance by
stakeholders for landfill use for our
purpose. This memorandum will serve to
remove that doubt.
In addition, the availability of the
material will be helpful for reference in the
field and at meetings as a support item to
convince people of the use of all sorts of
properties for model flying sites.
Academy of Model Aeronautics
Memorandum of Understanding with
EPA and Superfund Communities
The purpose of this Memorandum of
Understanding is to set forth certain
understandings between the Academy of
Model Aeronautics (“Academy”), an
organization exempt from federal income
tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, and the
Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”),
an agency of the United States government.
The Academy’s mission is to make
aeromodeling the foremost sport/hobby in
the world through promotion, development,
education about, and general advancement
of modeling activities. The Academy’s
priorities include:
• Representing more than 170,000
members nationwide from every walk
of life, economic background, and age
group. The Academy is open to
anyone interested in building and
flying model airplanes;
• Chartering more than 2,500 model
airplane clubs across the country. The
Academy offers its chartered clubs
official contest sanction, insurance,
and assistance in getting and keeping
flying sites;
• Organizing the annual National
Aeromodeling Championships in
Muncie, Indiana, the world’s largest
model airplane competition;
• Sanctioning more than 3,000 model
airplane competitions nationwide each
year, and certifying official model
flying records on a national and
international level;
• Providing liaison between local
chartered clubs and the Federal
Aviation Administration, the Federal
Communications Commission, and
other government agencies, in addition
to local governments, zoning boards,
and parks departments.
The partnership between the Academy
and EPA is an alliance which links
Superfund communities interested in
hosting aeromodeling activities on their
Superfund sites with the expertise and
resources of the Academy. The Superfund
sites should be open environments, which
have very few obstacles for model aircraft
and are normally surrounded by an
uninhabited buffer zone (e.g., closed or
capped landfills). The Academy will offer
services to participating Superfund
communities, in order to examine and
facilitate the integration of Superfund sites
with aeromodeling activities. Those services
are as follows:
• Mowing and maintaining the
landscape surfaces on the portions of
Superfund sites that the Academy is
utilizing; and,
• Maintaining fences located on the
portions of Superfund sites that the
Academy is utilizing.
EPA agrees to provide the Academy
with appropriate information about the
Superfund cleanup process and the
Superfund Redevelopment Initiative that
the Academy may use to facilitate
interaction with communities at identified
sites, and will consider aeromodeling
activities as a possible suitable future use
at appropriate points in the remedy
selection process. EPA will provide
information to the Academy about
Superfund sites that have physical
characteristics identified by the Academy
as suitable for aeromodeling and will
provide appropriated contact information
for EPA, State, and local representatives
for the sites.
It is understood and agreed by the
Academy that neither the EPA nor any of
the respective communities have any
obligation to host aeromodeling activities
and/or utilize the Academy services cited
above. It is also understood and agreed by
the Academy that any other sport or
recreational entity may offer similar types
of programs to EPA and/or the Superfund
communities.
Register as an FSA Volunteer! The Flying
Site Assistance Program consists of a network
of volunteers who serve as the AMA’s eyes
and ears. These volunteers read newspapers
and listen to and watch news programs to be
aware of any activities that could impact an
existing or potential flying site.
It is a matter of collecting information
regarding flying sites, advising local modelers
and AMA clubs in the area, and passing it on
to one of the AMA Flying Site Assistance
Coordinators.
Join this ambitious program as a service to
your fellow modelers. Anyone interested,
contact me at the address below.
