The Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) is located on approximately 2,850 acres in the Simi Hills in Ventura County, California, roughly 30 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The SSFL facility opened in 1948 when North American Aviation (which later became NAA Rocketdyne Division, then Rockwell International, and, more recently, Boeing) began research, development, and testing of rocket engines, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Air Forces.
SSFL is divided into four Administrative Areas: Area I, II, III and IV. Most of Area I and Areas III and IV, and two "undeveloped areas" are owned and operated by the Boeing Company. The Department of Energy (DOE) leased a portion of Area IV for energy research. Area II, consisting of 409.5 acres, and a 41.7-acre parcel within Area I are administered by NASA. Both areas were previously used for the development and testing of rocket engines and engine components. The last engine test took place at the Alfa Test Area in 2006.
Prior to rocket engine testing, part of the land was affiliated with the Silvernale Ranch and was used for raising cattle. The property was also the setting for more than 40 movies between the late 1930s and early 1950s.
During the prehistoric era, the land that constitutes SSFL was used by several Native American groups, including the Chumash, the Fernandeño, the Gabrieleño/Kizh, and the Tataviam. As a result, the SSFL contains significant Native American cultural and archeological resources, including the Burro Flats Site, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the California Register of Historic Places.
NASA used Area II and the liquid oxygen (LOX) production portion of Area I for research and testing of rocket engines and components associated with the Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs. Prior to NASA acquiring the property in 1973, testing was conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force on the Mercury and Gemini missions and for defense purposes. NASA rocket engine testing took place in Area II at four "test areas", Alfa, Bravo, Coca and Delta, each having multiple test stands to static fire the rocket engines. All research and testing activities have ceased, and NASA is now focused on cleaning up chemicals that were released into the environment during testing operations.
NASA never conducted nuclear research or used radioactive materials at SSFL. NASA conducted an extensive review of historical documents and completed surveys of all buildings and found no radiological isotopes or contamination above background levels. A comprehensive radiological survey conducted by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2012 found no radiological contamination extending into NASA areas.
Rocket engine testing and supporting activities, such as the production of liquid oxygen, storage of fuels, and engine assembly and cleaning, resulted in the release of chemicals into the environment. The primary contaminants on NASA's portion of SSFL include metals, petroleum products, and solvents, including trichloroethylene (TCE), which was used to clean rocket engines before and after each test. NASA has been rigorously investigating and conducting remediation activities where possible, since contamination was found in the late 1980s.
After completion of the Space Shuttle program, NASA concluded it had no further use for SSFL and submitted a "report of excess" to the General Services Administration (GSA) regarding the property in 2009. GSA has conditionally accepted that report pending the completion of NASA's cleanup. NASA will continue to administer the government's portion of SSFL until the property is transferred either to another federal entity or outside the U.S. government. The final use of the NASA portion is not known at this time, but NASA expects it will ultimately be preserved as open space.
In 2007, NASA, Boeing, DOE, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) signed a Consent Order for Corrective Action that addressed the cleanup of soils and groundwater at SSFL. The 2007 Consent Order requires a risk-based cleanup of groundwater. Risk-based cleanup methods focus cleanup resources on the reduction of risk and harm prevention based on the intended future use of a property (such as residential, recreational, industrial, or commercial). In 2010, NASA entered into an agreement with DTSC known as the Administrative Order on Consent (AOC), which outlines specific requirements to complete the characterization and cleanup of soils on the NASA-administered areas of SSFL. The AOC requires that soils be cleaned up to “background.” Background refers to the levels of contaminants that exist in the environment prior to releases of contamination requiring cleanup. More, specifically, NASA is required to clean up soil to “Look-up Table values that DTSC established in 2013.
NASA has completed an extensive soil investigation to understand the nature and extent of soil contamination in NASA areas at SSFL, and, in 2020, released a Record of Decision for Soil Cleanup. NASA is currently working with DTSC to address and resolve the technical issues associated with implementing soil cleanup under the AOC to guide the path forward and establish a timeline to implement our final, comprehensive soil cleanup at SSFL. In the meantime, NASA continues to prepare the site for soil cleanup through demolition activities, which, since beginning in 2014, have removed more than 40,000 tons of non-hazardous waste and 6,000 tons of hazardous waste, resulting in the restoration of more than 22 acres of property to its natural habitat. NASA anticipates that the final phase of demolition (Phase 8) will begin in 2025. The completion of NASA's demolition activities will allow NASA to promptly begin final cleanup activities as soon as the AOC technical issues are resolved and DTSC releases soil decision documents.
Following the completion of an extensive groundwater investigation NASA issued a Record of Decision for groundwater in 2018 outlining the decision to remediate groundwater contamination. In January 2024, NASA submitted to DTSC the Phase I Corrective Measures Study (CMS), which evaluates corrective actions and recommended corrective measures to clean up groundwater in NASA areas at SSFL. Based on this document, DTSC will select a preferred remedy and issue a Statement of Basis summarizing the remedial actions NASA will take to implement groundwater cleanup. Upon release of the statement, DTSC will open a public comment period and hold a public meeting. NASA anticipates DTSC's public review process and public meeting to occur in early 2025. In the meantime, NASA is currently conducting pilot tests of two different cleanup technologies: bedrock vapor extraction (BVE) and enhanced in situ bioremediation (EISB), which along with the onsite groundwater extraction treatment system (GETS) are actively cleaning up groundwater contamination.
In 2014, NASA began demolition activities at SSFL targeting the removal of inactive structures and infrastructure to reduce NASA's footprint on the property and prepare the site for final cleanup activities. In 2024, NASA completed Phase 7 of its demolition with the removal of Coca Test Stand 4. NASA is now preparing for Phase 8, the last planned phase of demolition in NASA areas prior to cleanup. Phase 8 will include the removal of the Coca Control House as well as the remaining concrete in the spillways and throughout the Coca Test Area. Since demolition began, NASA has removed more than 40,000 tons of non-hazardous waste and 6,000 tons of hazardous waste, and recycled over 14,000 tons of clean, recyclable steel and asphalt, resulting in the restoration of more than 22 acres of property to its natural habitat.
In 2020, NASA made the decision to retain the two remaining Alfa Test Stands and the associated Alfa control house and demolish the remaining structures in the Bravo and Coca Test Areas in accordance with NASA's 2014 Programmatic Agreement.
NASA recognizes the SSFL site needs to be cleaned up and we are eager to begin our final, comprehensive cleanup. The SSFL is a complex site that involves multiple parties and extensive regulatory oversight and community involvement. NASA has made significant progress over the past decade to prepare for final cleanup activities, including the completion of soil and groundwater investigations, performing surveys of natural and cultural resources, completing the required environmental review processes, and conducting demolition of obsolete structures. NASA is working with DTSC under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) process to develop cleanup plans that will go through a public review prior to DTSC approval.
NASA is taking proactive steps to address stormwater, working closely with the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board and the SSFL Stormwater Expert Panel, an independent blue ribbon panel that provides technical oversight on surface and storm water issues. NASA implements a year-round stormwater compliance and management program designed to assist Boeing's efforts to meet National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit limits at SSFL outfalls. NASA also develops and adheres to a stormwater pollution prevention plan (SWPPP) for every action (e.g, demolition, pilot studies) and conducts ongoing sampling to ensure stormwater quality meets strict permit requirements.
NASA's highest priority at SSFL is the protection of public health. The best scientific evidence, drawn from years of investigative work on NASA-administered property at SSFL indicates that the areas with the highest concentrations of chemicals are limited to groundwater and soil located within the areas where historical operations were conducted. The California DTSC has conducted an extensive review of environmental data related to SSFL, including measurements of air, soil, groundwater, surface water, and drinking water, as well as 13 health studies and concluded that there is no offsite contamination from SSFL that would pose a threat to human health or the environment, as documented in their Summary of Health Studies related to the Santa Susana Field Lab (Rocketdyne) site.
The DTSC and a team of federal, state, and local agencies evaluated impacts of the Woolsey Fire on conditions at the SSFL site and in communities around the site using data from field inspections, physical samples, and air monitoring data from existing monitoring stations on the SSFL site and in nearby communities. They found no hazardous materials from SSFL in surrounding communities following the Woolsey fire. You can review their findings summarized in the DTSC Final Summary Report on the Woolsey Fire. In addition, the California Department of Public Health, Cal EPA, the U.S. EPA, along with numerous other federal, state, and local agencies have reviewed the data and determined the fire did not present any risks other than those normally present in a wildfire situation.
Cultural resources are architectural resources, archaeological resources, objects, structures, districts, traditional cultural properties, cultural landscapes, and Indian Sacred Sites among other cultural heritage properties.
Within the NASA-administered areas of SSFL, identified cultural resources include the Alfa Test Area Historic District; three individually eligible structures within the district; the Burro Flats Site, which is an archaeological site listed on the National Register; a Traditional Cultural Property; and an Indian Sacred Site.
Multiple laws govern cultural resources including the National Environmental Policy Act, National Historic Preservation Act, the Archaeological Protection Act, the American Indian Religious Freedom Act, and others. Additionally, Executive Order 13007 requires federal agencies to accommodate access to and ceremonial use of Indian Sacred Sites by religious practitioners and to avoid adversely affecting the physical integrity of such sites.
NASA takes seriously its role as a steward of the cultural resources within NASA areas and has been working closely with the State Historic Preservation Officer and the Native American community to ensure the protection and preservation of cultural resources located within NASA areas at SSFL. In 2014, marking the conclusion of the Section 106 consultation process, NASA entered into a Programmatic Agreement (PA) with the California State Historic Preservation Officer (SHPO), the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), and the Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Indians that stipulates measures to be taken to address the adverse effects on cultural resources from NASA's demolition and cleanup activities at SSFL. Measures include the recordation of the historic test stands, Native American monitoring and oversight during all ground-disturbing field work, an Ethnographic Study documenting the prehistoric and historic native uses of the areas in and around SSFL, and the production and submittal of a Traditional Cultural Property (TCP) nomination to the National Register of Historic Places, among other actions.
NASA continues to engage with Native American representatives and DTSC to develop plans to ensure the protection of cultural resources during NASA's demolition and cleanup at SSFL.
NASA prioritizes communicating with the public about the ongoing environmental investigations and cleanup at SSFL. One of the primary methods NASA uses to keep the community informed is its NASA SSFL Communications E-List. E-List subscribers receive real-time updates about NASA cleanup activities at SSFL. Updates include notifications about project events and updates to the NASA SSFL website, including news and the posting of new documents. Subscribe now and stay connected.
NASA personnel occasionally host visitors for tours of the SSFL site. For the safety of the public and for workers, tours of NASA areas are limited due to ongoing field activities. For more information, please contact Lori Manes with NASA SSFL Community Outreach at (818) 806-8834 or lori.manes@nasa.gov.
NASA personnel are involved in meetings with members of the community, regulators, elected officials, and with Boeing and DOE about the SSFL site. NASA attends these meetings, sometimes as presenter, and at other times to listen and to answer questions. NASA attends meetings of environmental, community and other interest groups when possible. For more information, please contact Lori Manes with NASA SSFL Community Outreach at (818) 806-8834 or via email at lori.manes@nasa.gov.
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