Asbestos Found in Stadium Insulation

Another important change is the increase in environmental remediation costs to $14.4 million. An initial increase to $11.4 million was due to the discovery of 20 underground fuel tanks under the former asphalt plant. These tanks are quite old, and several of the tanks are leaking.

Since the end of May, additional inspections have uncovered more fuel tanks and asbestos in the building formerly owned by the Architect of the Capitol. Although the structure was built to be asbestos-free, refrigeration units were brought in and asbestos was found in the insulation. The removal of this additional oil and asbestos will cost approximately $3 million, which increased environmental remediation costs further to approximately $14.4 million. These higher costs will be paid from the project contingency fund.

This level of environmental cost was not projected either as part of the Phase I Environmental Study performed last year for my office or by a second study completed by the Office of Property Management (OPM) to determine the land value for purchase offers on the site.

At the time the Phase I Environmental Study was conducted, the District did not yet control the site and, therefore, invasive environmental testing could not be done. The Phase I Environmental Site Assessment was performed in accordance with American Society of Testing and Materials (ASTM) standards. The analysis identified current and past uses of the property as well as "recognized environmental conditions" observed at the site. The study was conducted through a review of records, site reconnaissance, and interviews. The Phase I study estimated total environmental remediation costs to be $8 million.

Subsequent to the Phase I study, OPM completed another environmental study in preparation for their purchase offers to owners of the parcels on the baseball site. The OPM study estimated environmental costs to be approximately $6.3 million, about $1.7 million less than the Phase I study. Again, neither study identified the additional costs that have subsequently been identified as part of the actual demolition and excavation.