I finally deduced how the NPS [National Park Service] can continue to play dumb about the WW I-era munition discovered in eastern Ft. Totten Park in July 2020. The key is the Feb. 27 update [below] where they say: “WMATA can best speak to the material that was placed and removed from the site.” That’s because in 1992, when the Park Service ordered the contaminated fill material from Glenbrook Road to be removed from the original western Ft. Totten dump site, it was WMATA contractors — not the NPS! — who actually hauled it to the narrow eastern arm of the park between Galloway & Gallatin streets. That’s why, in another section of their update, the Park Service says:
“The source of the munition [discovered in 2020] is unknown. Fort Totten was used by the Army only during the Civil War, and there is no record of military activity around Fort Totten that would explain why a WWI munition would be found at a site.”
NPS hasn’t yet responded. We check in with NPS periodically on the status of the response. It is not uncommon for NPS and other federal entities to take many months to respond to inquiries from members of Congress.
On Apr 10, 2023, at 2:12 PM, ALLEN HENGST <ahengst@verizon.net> wrote:
Thank you,
Allen
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In the 1980s, the NPS authorized the Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) to use two areas of Fort Totten Park for the construction of the Ft. Totten Metro Station and the Green Line. The area where the NPS is constructing the new Fort Totten trail (to the east of the Ft. Totten Metrorail Station, between Gallatin and Galloway Streets NE) was reportedly used for construction of the Green Line tunnel ... WMATA reports that no fill material from off-site was brought to the site. WMATA was also authorized to use a separate portion of Fort Totten Park to the west of the Ft. Totten Metrorail Station to stage construction equipment. A 0.75-acre portion of the park was cleared and compacted for the staging area ...
In 1992, WMATA excavated the staging area and placed 60 cubic yards of uncompacted fill material in the park. During the placement of the fill, workers complained of eye and respiratory irritation. The fill also contained large amounts of various [munitions] debris. The NPS required that WMATA remove the fill and replace it with clean fill [pg. 3]. In 2014, it was confirmed that the source of the original fill was 4825 [and 4835] Glenbrook Road NW [pgs. 13 - 14] within the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site , a property ... impacted by the release of hazardous substances. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently remediating the site. Following the removal of contaminated soil from the staging area in 1992, there were reports suggesting the potential that a portion of the contaminated fill remained on the wooded slope. In 2019, the NPS and WMATA performed additional soil testing to determine whether there was residual contamination ... WMATA can best speak to the material that was placed and removed from the site ...
In 1992, WMATA excavated the staging area and placed 60 cubic yards of uncompacted fill material in the park. During the placement of the fill, workers complained of eye and respiratory irritation. The fill also contained large amounts of various [munitions] debris. The NPS required that WMATA remove the fill and replace it with clean fill [pg. 3]. In 2014, it was confirmed that the source of the original fill was 4825 [and 4835] Glenbrook Road NW [pgs. 13 - 14] within the Spring Valley Formerly Used Defense Site , a property ... impacted by the release of hazardous substances. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is currently remediating the site. Following the removal of contaminated soil from the staging area in 1992, there were reports suggesting the potential that a portion of the contaminated fill remained on the wooded slope. In 2019, the NPS and WMATA performed additional soil testing to determine whether there was residual contamination ... WMATA can best speak to the material that was placed and removed from the site ...
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In 2020, a contractor working for the NPS discovered a WWI-era empty metal canister [75mm artillery shell] on the surface of the ground while working on the Ft. Totten Trail. At the time, the NPS thought that the canister could be an unexploded ordnance, and the canister was immediately removed from the site and inspected by the Department of Defense (DOD). The information provided by DOD indicates the munition was an unfused, unused, empty canister [modified with a hexagonal plug to accommodate poison gas], and it was safely disposed of. The source of the munition [pg. 5] is unknown [sic]. Ft. Totten was used by the Army only during the Civil War, and there is no record [sic] of military activity around Ft. Totten that would explain why a WW-I munition would be found at a site ...
Work [on the trail] was paused again in early 2022, after the NPS uncovered a portion of Metrorail infrastructure during trail construction. The NPS then conducted a thorough review, consulted with engineers and engaged with WMATA and determined that we will need to redesign the trail with a new alignment. It is our intent to complete the trail design in 2023.
Work [on the trail] was paused again in early 2022, after the NPS uncovered a portion of Metrorail infrastructure during trail construction. The NPS then conducted a thorough review, consulted with engineers and engaged with WMATA and determined that we will need to redesign the trail with a new alignment. It is our intent to complete the trail design in 2023.
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