AU officials approved plans late last month that will allow the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dig behind the Public Safety building, Dan Noble, project manager for the Army Corps' Military Munitions Response Program, said during a Spring Valley Restoration Advisory Board meeting June 10.
Spring Valley residents attended the RAB meeting in the basement of St. David's Episcopal Church. The meeting is separate from monthly partner meetings held between representatives from the Army Corps, the D.C. Department of the Environment and AU.
The approval of the plans comes almost a year after the Army Corps first requested permission to dig behind the Public Safety building. Army Corps officials were initially concerned after items found at Lot 18, a debris field on the southwestern edge of AU along Rockwood Parkway, seemed to trail to the Public Safety building, Noble said.
However, officials from AU's Facilities Management department were hesitant to allow the Army Corps to dig near Public Safety until they drew up extensive plans, Noble said. Officials from the Army Corps, D.C. Department of the Environment and AU discussed the project at the monthly partner meetings.
Facilities Management wanted further details on how to carry out the investigation and soil removal. The department's main concerns were how the Army Corps would monitor the air quality and remove debris during the investigation, according to Jorge Abud, assistant vice president of facilities.
The Army Corps will continue to investigate the property conditions over the next few weeks and will begin soil intrusion activities in late June or early July. The project will last around six months, Noble said.
"The plans have been finalized, the right of entry has been signed by AU and so we are moving forward," he said
The Army Corps began investigating the property June 9. Representatives from the Army Corps' real estate department and AU officials took note of the conditions of the exterior and interior of the Public Safety building. They took video footage for documentation, Noble said.
The investigation should not interrupt sidewalks or roadways near the Public Safety building, Abud said. However, a few parking spaces may be needed for vehicles related to the dig.
Facilities Management employees will not participate in the Army Corps' activities, he said.
"We won't be involved in the dig but we will facilitate the project, such as if a street needs to be closed off," Abud said.
The east extension of the Engineered Control Structure at 4825 Glenbrook Road continues to yield munitions and related scrap metal, according to an Army Corps publication. The Army Corps had moved the ECS toward the eastern end of the site in April and expect to complete excavation in that area by the end of the month, according to the June Army Corps newsletter. They will then extend the ECS to the south, away from AU's campus toward the corner of Glenbrook Road and Rockwood Parkway. The investigation in the southern end of the property should be complete by early August.
Army Corps officials are unsure if finishing the dig on the southern end of the area will complete the Glenbrook Road project.
"While the [Army Corps] certainly hopes this will be the end of the munition recovery efforts in the Glenbrook Road area, it is important to remember that this effort and others are still actively investigating and gathering new information about American University Experiment Station activities during World War I," Noble stated in the newsletter.
