July 2024: Our contractor has finished all digging and for the last several weeks has been working to restore the hillside in preparation for re-planting. We are dismantling site infrastructure and upon completion, will no longer have a daily presence on campus.
This significant milestone is tempered by the fact that the debris layer we have been excavating is continuing past our hillside retaining wall and going deeper into the hill than we realized. Because of the danger of soil collapse, we cannot dig past the retaining wall. Remaining debris is under a minimum of 15 feet of clean, overburden soil, and discussions to determine a path forward are underway with the Partners and American University, including the likelihood that we may have to consider leaving the remaining debris in place and managing it as is in the future. We will continue to communicate with our stakeholders and will update this site as decisions are made.
The attached slides show our progress between January and July 2024.
Please also note that USACE is preparing to announce a public meeting in August on the Groundwater Proposed Plan to discuss the No Further Action proposal for Spring Valley site. Meeting details will be made available on this site.
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June 2024: While conducting ongoing remediation work June 4, 2024 on American University’s former Public Safety Building, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) discovered numerous suspected WWI-era full or partial 75 mm munitions. Out of an abundance of caution, USACE personnel assessed the site and immediately coordinated with Fort Belvoir's 55th Ordnance Company and Metro DC Fire Department, who reported to the scene. Two items required further assessment and were transported to Aberdeen Proving Ground that same day.
The U.S. Army’s assessment team has determined that all indications demonstrate the two items of concern are NOT chemical warfare materiel. Based on that assessment, USACE will return to work at the site, effective June 12, 2024, with all safety procedures and protocols called for by our low probability work plan in place. These procedures include 100% visual oversight of work by highly trained unexploded ordnance safety specialists, full-time perimeter monitoring of our work-site, and a robust contingency plan if suspect items or materials are encountered.
The former Public Safety Building is located on the southern edge of the AU’s campus. During the World War I era, this area of the campus and the Spring Valley neighborhood was known as the American University Experiment Station (AUES). It was used by the U.S. government for engineer troop training, research and testing of chemical agents, equipment and munitions. This area is now referred to as the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS). USACE's current goal is to remove suspected AUES debris located under and in the immediate vicinity of the former Public Safety Building’s foundation, as was done on June 4.
All work plans and safety procedures are reviewed by internal Army experts, as well as our Partners, American University, the Environmental Protection Agency Region III and the D.C. Department of Energy and the Environment. Safety remains the number one priority for USACE. Throughout every phase of the project, all necessary precautions are taken to ensure the safety of the site workers, the AU campus, the residents of the community, and those walking and driving by.