Ohio & Mahoning Valley - EDITOR'S NOTE: A correction to clarify the status of the work at the Air Reserve Station has been added to the story.

An effort to determine whether cleanup of the PFAS-contaminated locations at the Youngstown Air Reserve Station, first identified in 2019, is needed, and has sampled nearby wells within one mile of the decades-old sites.

Previous attempts to establish a citizen-led Restoration Advisory Board to monitor and plan future cleanup in the area have generated little interest, the filings stated.

But there's a good chance that these are the first residents hearing of it or any attempts to create an advisory local board. Yet, the federal government says there has been no public interest in such a board. based on little to no response.

A public notice was put into two Vindicator articles from 2023. The notice asked anyone who was interested in the cleanup efforts to reach out, and explained the possibility of forming a Restoration Advisory Board. 

A community involvement plan about the project said the public announcements were exclusively published in the Youngstown Vindicator newspaper “because of repeated unsuccessful attempts to contact Vienna Township… for the placement of the public notice on the community web page.”

The plan also said there was a “good-faith effort” to inform stakeholders.

After only getting one response, it was decided that there was no interest in forming the advisory board. 

“It sounds to me like they're making a real leap here. They're interpreting from their, you know, small response that people aren't interested. They don't know that, that people may just not know,” said Marty Schladen, Ohio Capital Journal reporter.

In some states, public notices are now online. But unless you know where to look, you may not see them on websites.

“Is that a banner at the very front of any website that has a public notice saying public notices click here? Is that some type of record retention policy, for example, that makes sure that they all stay? Is that also saying that if you put it in the paper, you also put it online, or vice versa,” said Ohio Representative David Thomas. “If we're going to have digital online notices, we have to make sure that some of the same rules still apply, that there's records of them, that they're there for the public and will stay on the websites, and that they're not hidden from the public on the website, but instead are very noticeable.”

Schladen said having those public notices in newspapers are essential for keeping their businesses open, but also said there is no reason that public notices shouldn’t also be posted online.

“They need to be in places where people can go. You know, where people know to go see, you know, if you're interested. And that's a big problem we're having now with our fractured information environment, is those places are harder and harder to identify,” said Schladen.

State Representative Lauren McNally agrees, saying the biggest thing is making sure everyone has access to public notices.

“It needs to be both in print and in digital form, because there are barriers of access to both of those for the public,” said McNally. “Public notice is meant for the public, and so the most amount of people need to be able to have access to it. And so it's my personal opinion that I think that we need to be where the people are, and that's in both places.”

Thomas said there is currently no legislation pending, but there have been talks. Discussions include ideas like a mass email system, and looking into ways to regulate where online public notices can be placed.

He said it would be ideal to have it on both platforms, but said it's also important that it is not too costly for taxpayers. Because the online option is cheaper, Thomas said there appears to be a shift to having notices online-only.

Ohio law allows those posting public notices to choose between an online-only option and a print option. They are not obligated to post the notices in both places.

The 910th Airlift Wing Public Response sent the statement after the segment aired.

“ At Youngstown Air Reserve Station, Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) were first identified on base property in 2019 during a Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Site Inspection. Since then, the Department of the Air Force has followed the CERCLA cleanup process to investigate where PFAS may be present, determine whether it poses a risk, and take steps to prevent future releases.  In 2020/2021, as part of this overall effort, the Air Force sampled 23 private drinking water wells located within one mile downgradient of the installation. All results were below the Department of the Air Force action level in place at the time, meaning none required further action under Department of War policy. Under CERCLA, however, the Air Force always retains the ability to take immediate remedial action if sampling identifies an imminent risk to human health. To date, no such conditions have been found at Youngstown ARS regarding PFAS.  The Remedial Investigation to determine the total footprint of PFAS impacts began in 2021 and is on-going.

The CERCLA process also requires that community interest in establishing a Restoration Advisory Board is assessed at least every 24 months.  The RAB provides a formal process for the community to have their voices heard; however, is not the only way to get information regarding the Environmental Restoration Program.  All finalized documents are available on the online administrative record: https://ar.cce.af.mil/.  Additionally, the public will be notified of any environmental related issues or concerns via local media outlets in accordance with federal, state and Air Force regulations.”

Regarding public announcements gauging interest for a RAB posted in both the Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle in 2023, the determination not to establish a RAB was made that due to lack of public interest. In June 2025, another public announcement measuring interest to establish a RAB was printed and met with low public interest.”