Norton Presses U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to Expedite Spring Valley Chemical Cleanup

WASHINGTON, D.C.—After almost 25 years of work, Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) is trying to expedite federal efforts to excavate and restore the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site, located in Spring Valley, the residential neighborhood near American University. At a Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee hearing, Norton, a senior member of the subcommittee, asked Lieutenant General Thomas Bostick, Chief of Engineers, United States Army Corps of Engineers, if there was any way to speed the project's timeline. Norton requested a response from the Corps within 30 days.

The Congresswoman has successfully ensured that funding for the site cleanup has flowed without interruption, even during the recession and sequester. Although the excavation for the Glenbrook Road site, one of the most extensive, is scheduled to be completed in 2017, there may be further cleanup affecting up to 100 homes in the neighborhood even then.

"While I appreciate that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has worked diligently with the neighbors and me to clean up the Spring Valley site, I want to find ways to speed up the timeline of this project," Norton said. "If there are dangerous chemicals that still hide in this highly residential neighborhood, the sooner we know it the better. I look forward to working with the Corps to find solutions to expediting the cleanup."

The Army used Spring Valley in Northwest D.C. as the major U.S. chemical weapons testing and development site during World War I. Norton has been working with the Army Corps since 1993 to clean up the site, where numerous toxins, including arsenic, lewisite and mustard gas, have been found. Unlike most Formerly Used Defense Sites, Spring Valley is the home of a major university, American University, which has more than 12,000 students, and is located in a sought after, densely populated residential area.

The Army Corps recently released its Draft-Final Site-Wide Remedial Investigation Report for the site, and the public has until May 26, 2015, to submit comments.