The Army Corps of Engineers plans to pause cleanup of Lot 18 to focus on investigating an AU-owned house site for munitions, said David Taylor, chief of staff to Interim President Neil Kerwin, noting that there are no current plans for demolition of the property.
The Northwest Current previously reported that the house, located on 4825 Glenbrook Road, was built on a pit of munitions that might require its demolition. However, there are no current plans for the house to be demolished, according to the Corps of Engineers.
The Corps of Engineers, in connection with the D.C. Department of Health, started to investigate various Spring Valley properties in 1993 after evidence was found that they contained chemical residue following the testing of chemical weapons by the U.S. Army in 1918.
AU originally owned the parcel of land where the Glenbrook Road house now sits, as well as the university president's house at 4835 Glenbrook Road, Taylor said. However, in the late 1980s the university sold the land to Miller Construction. The land was eventually sold to Lawrence N. Brandt Inc., the developer who built the houses at 4825 and 4835 Glenbrook who sold the 4825 house to the Loughlin family.
According to Bethany Bridgham, the university's senior associate general council, the Loughlins had entered a purchase agreement with Brandt that included a buy-back provision.
Bridgham said a powdery substance, which was later determined to be a common pesticide, was found on the property during construction of the house. When the house was sold to the Loughlins, the discovery of the pesticide and its remediation was disclosed to the buyers.
After purchasing and living in the house, Bridgham said that the Loughlins initiated their buy-back agreement and sold the house back to Brandt.
After Brandt regained ownership, they encountered disagreements with the Corps of Engineers and asked them to cease their investigation.
They paused their operations "knowing full well they would have to come back," Taylor said.
Following the buy-back, the Loughlin family sued both the university and Brandt for personal injury complaints, claiming tens of millions of dollars, Bridgham said.
"The lawsuits were resolved and charges against the university were dismissed," Bridgham said. Brandt reached a settlement with the Loughlins. The Loughlins dismissed all their claims against AU and Brandt.
AU repurchased the property at 4825 Glenbrook Road in August 2005 and is working with the Corps of Engineers to ensure the property is fully remediated.
It is unlikely the house will have to be demolished, as munitions pits were found in two other Spring Valley properties, not including the house at 4825, Schilling said. Neither house had to be demolished.
The known munitions are located beside the house, not under the house, as the Northwest Current previously reported. Gary Schilling, head of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Spring Valley area clean-up project, said that because of this, the Corps of Engineers "intends to remove the munitions without damaging the house."
Schilling and the munitions do not present any immediate health risks.
"It is believed that the munitions pose little immediate risk while buried," Schilling said in an e-mail. "In order to fully understand the risks associated with these munitions, the USACE will have to remove the munitions and investigate the surrounding soils and groundwater."
The Corps of Engineers knew about the munitions on the Glenbrook Road property and had decided how to allocate their budget. According to Bridgham, the Glenbrook Road property has always been in the cycle of properties waiting to be investigated and cleaned by the Corps of Engineers. Bridgham said the USACE is tied to a four- to five-year budget year budget and workplan that dictates when munitions will be removed.
The Glenbrook Road property cleanup is estimated to cost about $7 million, Schilling said in an e-mail. The Spring Valley cleanup is estimated to cost approximately $175 million and extend through the year 2010.
