Baltimore, Md. - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Baltimore District, has decided to modify the work schedule for high probability operations at 4825 Glenbrook Road NW in Washington, D.C., a part of the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Sites project. The impending furlough of government employees requires the implementation of a variety of reductions in work hours. The furlough will restrict the team to four 8-hour work days per week and overtime compensation will not be allowed, which restricts available work hours from our current schedule of 60 hours per week down to 32 hours per week.
Safety for our workers and the community is our number one priority. The Corps of Engineers will not compromise safety; therefore even the slightest potential that response capabilities might be degraded under furlough conditions led to the decision to delay high probability intrusive activities at the site.
The Corps of Engineers is only delaying the start of high probability intrusive activities at the site. Non-intrusive work at the site will continue throughout the furlough. The Corps of Engineers will continue to install all of the remaining engineering controls, actively maintain the site, continue to provide on-site security, and perform all required training in preparation for high probability intrusive activities. This will allow high probability operations to begin as soon as the furlough ends.
The Corps of Engineers is using a multi-agency team to support this project. All assets and resources of these agencies must be available to respond rapidly and appropriately to many different sets of circumstances that could develop at the site. Furlough guidance applies to other Army agencies, such as the response unit and laboratory that provide technical expertise in support of the project. Because each Army agency has differing implementation requirements for the furlough, it has become increasingly difficult to coordinate a multi-agency response effort. To ensure safety during the high probability intrusive activities, it is best to delay those operations until the furlough ends for all the agencies involved in the site work.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is conducting a formerly used defense site project at 4825 Glenbrook Road NW in Washington, D.C. The mission is to identify, investigate and remove or remediate threats to human health, safety or the environment resulting from past Department of Defense activities in the area.
For more information on the project, go to http://www.nab.usace.army.mil/Home/SpringValley.aspx or contact Clem Gaines at (410) 962-2809.
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Release no. 13-015