The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is excited to share that we have completed the Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) and Draft Finding of No Significant Impact (FNSI) for the proposed decommissioning and dismantling of the Deactivated SM-1 Nuclear Reactor Facility at Fort Belvoir and have made them available for public review and comment. They are available online at
www.nab.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/SM-1/ along with the formal public notice regarding their availability.
We understand this release is coming amidst the holiday season so we have extended the traditional 30-day window for public review and comment to 6 weeks, which will give stakeholders through the end of January to provide feedback.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers proposes to decommission the SM‐1 facility to a standard that allows for release of the site for unrestricted use (the proposed action in the Draft EA). Under the proposed action, USACE would implement an Army Reactor Office-approved Decommissioning Plan to safely remove, transport, and dispose of remaining structures, equipment, and media from the SM-1 site; validate that site conditions meet applicable cleanup standards; restore the site to a vegetated condition; and return the site to Fort Belvoir for future use. The Draft EA analyzes the potential environmental impacts of the proposed action and concludes that there would be no significant adverse impacts on the physical, cultural, and natural environment. The team appreciates the feedback we have already received from members of the community, both on-post and off-post, during our outreach efforts over the course of the year. We have used your feedback to inform our planning efforts and the preparing of the documents available for review.
The project team invites stakeholders to attend public meetings for the Draft EA to learn more about the proposed action and environmental review. The public meetings will be held on January 7 and 8, 2020. Each meeting will be conducted in an open house format to include a short presentation followed by questions and answers from the audience. The public meeting schedule will be:
- Tuesday, January 7, 2020 (On-Post*) - Thurman Hall, Building 247, 270 Kuhn Road, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060
(* Due to Fort Belvoir security requirements, attendance at the on-post meetings is limited to Department of Defense military and civilian personnel, Fort Belvoir residents, and Fort Belvoir contractors/civilian employees.) • Afternoon Meeting: Open House/Poster Session 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM, Formal Presentation and Audience Questions 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM
• Evening Meeting: Open House/Poster Session 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM, Formal Presentation and Audience Questions 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
- Wednesday, January 8, 2020 (Off-Post – Open to the General Public) - Fairfax South County Office, Room 221, 8350 Richmond Highway, Alexandria, VA 22309
• Open House/Poster Session 6:30 PM – 7:30 PM, Formal Presentation and Audience Questions 7:30 PM - 8:30 PM
More information about the release of the Draft EA and associated documents, public meetings and the SM-1 decommissioning effort in general can all be found on the USACE project website at:
www.nab.usace.army.mil/Missions/Environmental/SM-1/.
Thank you all again for choosing to be a part of this process with us as we continue working through the planning phase of the decommissioning and dismantling of the deactivated SM-1. The team anticipates awarding a decommissioning contract for the work around summer 2020, with mobilization work on site beginning later in 2021.
If you have any questions, feedback or information you'd like to share with us, please feel free to e-mail me or call our Corporate Communication team at 410-962-2809.
Very Respectfully,
Brenda M. Barber, P.E.
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Baltimore District Project Manager - Environmental and Munitions Design Center
ATTN: CENAB-ENE-C
2 Hopkins Plaza
09-A-10 (Cube)
Baltimore, MD 21201
☎410-962-0030 (desk)
☎443-253-3048 (cell)
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