Announcements

--- Next Restoration Advisory Board Meeting - Sept. 14, 2021 at 7 p.m.

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Sept 2021 RAB Meeting 

Due to health concerns surrounding COVID-19, the September 2021 RAB meeting will be held via Webex video conferencing services. Please email or call the Outreach Team for more information about participation - Whitney.L.Gross@usace.army.mil or 410-962-2210.

WebEx info for the meeting is as follows:

Tuesday, Sept. 14, 2021 7:00 pm | (UTC-04:00) Eastern Time (US & Canada)

Meeting number: 1995 88 4524

Password: CpxB8vcc2?2

 

Join by video system

https://usace1.webex.com/usace1/j.php?MTID=m293509b4739fda4efc4a19eed0d7cffd

Enter Meeting Number: 1995 88 4524

 

Join by phone

+1-844-800-2712 US Toll Free

Access code: 199 588 4524

 

The project update slides for this meeting will be sent next week Monday ahead of the meeting, will be shown during the meeting, and will also be available on the USACE Spring Valley website

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--- Final Site-Wide Decision Document Now Available: 

The Final Site-Wide Decision Document is complete and is now available at the Information Repository and for download here on our site. The Decision Document outlines the selected remedies to address both unacceptable risks posed by soil contamination and unacceptable explosive hazards posed by the possible presence of munitions and explosives of concern (MEC).

Click here to visit the Site-Wide section of the Spring Valley page where the Final Site-Wide Decision Document can be downloaded

Spring Valley Overview

The Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site (FUDS) consists of approximately 660 acres in the northwest section of Washington, D.C. During the World War I‐era, the site was known as the American University Experiment Station, and was used by the U.S. government for research and testing of chemical agents, equipment, and munitions. Today, the site encompasses approximately 1,600 private properties, including several embassies and foreign properties, as well as the American University and Wesley Seminary.

Project Efforts

Project Update

4825 Glenbrook Road

Site-Wide

Groundwater

Community Participation

Partners

History

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District has the lead responsibility for investigation and cleanup actions at the Spring Valley FUDS and has entered into a formal partnering process with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Washington, D.C. District Department of the Environment. The three organizations, referred to as the partners, have agreed to prioritize the project work by risk, addressing the highest risks first. The Corps investigation includes the identification and removal of arsenic‐contaminated soil, a groundwater investigation, and the search for additional munitions, both in burial pits and isolated items on residential properties.

Information Repository

The Information Repository is located at the Tenley-Friendship Branch Library, 4450 Wisconsin Ave. N.W., Washington, D.C.  Hard copies and digital records of key project documents can be found upstairs in the Reference Section.  The document collection includes a variety of materials created since the start of the project, 20 years ago. Check with the reference librarian to direct you to our shelves of materials. You can click here for a PDF scan of the master list of documents located in the Information Repository.

Also, on your next visit to the library, ask at the Reference Desk for the Spring Valley FUDS large binder, which has a table of contents and almost a hundred disks that contain years of digital records available for research and review. These disks must be checked out from the librarian and are only available for use on the library’s public computers during your visit.  If there is a piece of information you cannot locate in the library, please contact the Community Outreach Team at 410-962-0157.

Additional archived documents not found in the library or here on the Web site can be found at http://springvalley.ertcorp.com.

Munitions Safety Video

Spring Valley Restoration Advisory Board Meeting
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Project Manager Alex Zahl looks on as crews use a Manned Portable Vector to classify buried metallic anomalies during geophysical surveying efforts along Dalecarlia Parkway in the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site September 6, 2018. The work is part of the Site-Wide Remedial Action approved for the FUDS. The surveying is part of an effort to identify metallic anomalies below the surface that could be munitions left in the ground as a result of military activity in the area during World War I. The MPV equipment helps determine whether buried metallic anomalies are munitions items that may potentially be hazardous or cultural debris that do not need to be removed.
Crews fill drums with contaminated soil at 4825 Glenbrook Road during cleanup efforts there in February 2019. The 4825 Glenbrook Road cleanup effort is one ongoing aspect of the larger Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site.
A Manned Portable Vector is used during geophysical surveying efforts at a home in the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site February 12, 2019 as part of the Site-Wide Remedial Action approved for the FUDS. The surveying is part of an effort to identify metallic anomalies below the surface that could be munitions left in the ground as a result of military activity in the area during World War I. The MPV equipment is helps determine whether buried metallic anomalies are munitions items or cultural debris that does not need to be removed.
On February 10, 2015 crews safely recovered two open cavity, unfired, unfuzed, empty 4.7" projectiles (just one pictured here). Both items were non-detect for chemical agent and are being handled as munitions debris.
Crews use a Manned Portable Vector to classify buried metallic anomalies during geophysical surveying efforts along Dalecarlia Parkway in the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site September 6, 2018 as part of the Site-Wide Remedial Action approved for the FUDS. The surveying is part of an effort to identify metallic anomalies below the surface that could be munitions left in the ground as a result of military activity in the area during World War I. The MPV equipment helps determine whether buried metallic anomalies are munitions items that may potentially be hazardous or cultural debris that do not need to be removed.
On February 11, 2015 the team safely recovered an unfuzed, unfired 75mm closed cavity item. The 75mm item contained some liquid, but there were no explosives. The final assessment indicated that the probable fill is water, not chemical warfare materiel.
Crews discovered American University Experiment Station-related glass debris during the remaining low probability excavation work, which started Sept. 4, 2014.
Spring Valley Restoration Advisory Board Meeting
A G-858 magnetometer is used during geophysical surveying efforts at a home in the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site January 16, 2019 as part of the Site-Wide Remedial Action approved for the FUDS. The surveying is part of an effort to identify metallic anomalies below the surface that could be munitions left in the ground as a result of military activity in the area during World War I. Extensive cleanup activities have been carried out in the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site, and while there are no known munitions hazards on these properties, this work is being done, as always, out of an abundance of caution and concern for the safety of residents and community members.
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Contact Information

Baltimore District Corporate Communication
410-962-2809
cenab-cc@usace.army.mil