The “community forum” during an advisory neighborhood commission meeting is a time for residents to speak about issues or projects in or affecting the area. The people who run businesses in an ANC – or would like to – can also use this time to speak about issues, or introduce themselves and their services.
To get to the point: We might be welcoming Compass Coffee to the neighborhood. Compass co-founder Michael Haft is on ANC 3F’s April 18th agenda (below). You can join the Zoom meeting at 7 p.m. Tuesday to hear what he has to say.
We’ll also be hearing from At-Large Council member Kenyan McDuffie, and from Lindsey Appiah, the deputy mayor for public safety and justice.
DC Water will be returning with an update on the Soapstone sewer rehabilitation project. The relining phase started on March 13th. The agency recently told residents of the houses on Audubon Terrace to expect an increase in construction vehicles and activities this week due to work on a nearby sewer line segment, though not the line that connects directly to their homes through laterals. The work on that line is to begin in mid-September.
The changes coming to the UDC campus will be far more visible. At some point, the gigantic Building 41 will be coming down, and the new DC Archives will be built in its place. Lopez Matthews Jr., the state archivist and public records administrator, is scheduled to speak at the ANC meeting about the project. In the meantime, check out the concept designs for the new building.
Here’s the full draft agenda:
ANC 3F – Regular Meeting Agenda
April 18, 2023; 7:00 pm to 9:33 pm
ANC 3F is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting at https://bit.ly/anc3fmeet
Welcome (7:00pm)
Call to Order (7:01pm)
Roll Call (7:02 pm)
I. Adoption of the April 18, 2023 ANC 3F meeting agenda (7:03pm)
II. Approval of ANC 3F meeting minutes for March 21, 2023 (7:04pm)
III. Regular Agenda – Commissioner Updates and Announcements (7:05pm- 7:15pm)
IV. Regular Agenda – Committee Reports (7:16pm – 7:26pm)
- Streets & Sidewalks
- Parks & Watersheds
- Schools & Universities
- Housing & Neighborhoods
V. Regular Agenda – Community Forum (community leaders and agencies give brief updates) (7:27 – 7:37pm)
- University of the District of Columbia
- Van Ness Main Street
- Ward 3 Councilmember Matt Frumin’s Office
- Compass Coffee with co-founder Michael Haft
- Other updates
VI. Regular Agenda – Information Items (ANC 3F will not take a vote on these items) (7:38pm – 9:00pm)
- ANC 3F Listening Session with At-Large Councilmember Kenyan McDuffie (7:38pm – 7:58pm)
- DC Mayor’s Budget Presentation and Q&A with Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice, Lindsey Appiah (7:59pm – 8:19pm)
- DC Archives Project Update with State Archivist and Public Records Administrator for DC, Dr. Lopez Matthews (8:20pm – 8:40pm)
- DC Water Update (8:41pm – 9:00pm)
VII. Regular Agenda – (ANC 3F will vote on these items) (9:01pm – 9:33pm)
- Grant Application for Friends of Peirce Mill on The Mid-Atlantic Grain Fair and Conference (9:01pm – 9:11pm)
- BZA Permit with Parlor Wines at 4221 Connecticut Avenue, NW (9:12pm – 9:22pm)
- Resolution Regarding Transportation to School for Students with Special Needs (9:23pm – 9:33pm)
VIII. Adjournment (9:33pm)
Thank you for joining us this evening. The next ANC 3F meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 16, 2023.
Green Eyeshades says
After at least 16 months of investigation, reporting and ANC3F resolutions, our neighborhood is still defenseless against potential releases of carcinogenic volatile organic compounds.
The Forest Hills Connection made news in December 2021 when it first reported in detail on the danger that carcinogenic chemicals could be released during relining of sewers in Soapstone Valley using thermal curing of Cured-in-Place Pipe (CIPP):
https://www.foresthillsconnection.com/news/soapstone-neighbors-question-dc-water-on-methods-and-communication-for-upcoming-sewer-rehab-project/
Since December 2021, the Connection has reported on the sewer relining project more than a dozen times (if you search only for CIPP).
On January 18, 2022 (last year), ANC3F adopted this resolution:
https://anc3f.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/ANC-3F-Resolution-Urging-Immediate-Action-to-Halt-Permitting-Process-for-Use-of-Thermal-CIPP-Methods-in-Soapstone-Sewer-Rehabilitation-Project.pdf
In February 2022, DC Water promised that it would monitor air quality during the installation of Cured-in-Place Pipe (CIPP):
https://www.foresthillsconnection.com/news/soapstone-sewer-updates-dc-water-promises-air-quality-monitoring-and-voc-free-liners-anc-asks-council-for-stop-work-order/
On May 17, 2022 (also last year), ANC3F adopted this resolution:
https://anc3f.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/ANC3F-Resolution-Urging-DOEE-to-Require-DC-Water-to-Obtain-an-Air-Quality-Permit-for-the-Sewer-Repair-and-Rehabilitation-Project-in-Soapstone-Valley-Park.pdf
At their March 21, 2023 meeting, ANC3F adopted a resolution described in its agenda for that meeting as follows, but a PDF of the actual resolution has not been posted:
“Resolution Regarding DC Water’s Main and Trunk Sewer Lines Relining Project in Soapstone Valley: Issues of CIPP Curing Method, Need for Shut Down Provision, Insulating Cover for Sump Pump near Albemarle Ave Trailhead, and Construction and Maintenance of By-pass System”
The agenda for the March 21, 2023 meeting is here:
https://www.foresthillsconnection.com/news/anc-3f-march-21-agenda-soapstone-work-stream-safety-warnings-sidewalk-cafes/
Of those three resolutions, only the May 2022 resolution resulted in some success. DC Water hired an air quality engineering firm to create an air quality monitoring plan, as reported at this link in July 2022 (see end of following blogpost):
https://www.foresthillsconnection.com/news/soapstone-sewer-project-update-stream-restoration-under-way-noise-complaints-and-no-sewer-pipe-work-for-at-least-60-days/
The Forest Hills Connection reported on September 7, 2022 that DC’s Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE) had not yet approved the air quality monitoring plan proposed by DC Water and its contractor:
https://www.foresthillsconnection.com/news/soapstone-sewer-updates-a-neighborhood-working-group-is-tackling-issues-including-air-pollution-and-noise/
Some of the proposed details of air quality monitoring plan (AQMP) to be followed during installation of CIPP, created by a contractor called “AECOM,” were revealed to the neighborhood during ANC3F’s monthly meeting in September 2022, which is recorded in this YouTube video:
https://youtu.be/IN9uwPNb_nU
Seven months after the May 2022 resolution was adopted, DC Water did finally obtain an air quality permit from DC’s Department of Energy and Environment (DOEE). In December 2022 DOEE finally approved the air quality permit and AQMP for the Soapstone project, as the Connection reported in January 2023:
https://www.foresthillsconnection.com/news/dc-water-to-begin-soapstone-sewer-relining-by-the-end-of-january/
The actual AQMP, updated as of December 7, 2022, is still available online at this link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1K66YexloITYgAM-gj-14eMR7HR24CVHM/view
The AQMP defines several acronyms on page 6. The abbreviation AEGL means “Acute Exposure Guidance Level” and the abbreviation TVOC means “Total Volatile Organic Compounds.”
The AQMP spells out the “Stop Work Condition” at page 23, but DC Water and its CIPP contractor have repeatedly stated publicly that they refuse to comply with that “Stop Work” requirement in the AQMP that DC Water was required to adopt as a condition of receiving its air quality permit from DOEE.
This is the stop work condition in the mandatory air quality monitoring plan:
“TVOC > AEGL”
In other words, whenever “Total Volatile Organic Compounds” are greater than “Acute Exposure Guidance Level,” the CIPP work must “Stop.” See page 23 of AQMP. But DC Water and its contractor say the only thing they will do in that event is “expand the work zone” or “enlarge the work zone.” I could not find any references in the AQMP to “expand (or enlarge or increase) the work zone” as a remedy for excess release of total volatile organic compounds.