Construction Support/Anomaly Avoidance

Construction support at the Former Lowry Bombing and Gunnery Range (FLBGR) consists of the following services:

1. Educating property owners, contractors, and other users of land located within the FLBGR about unexploded ordnance (UXO) hazards and who to contact regarding suspected UXO, and
2. Identifying and removing UXO items encountered during construction activities at the site.

When notified of a forthcoming change in land use, the Corps of Engineers, Omaha District (USACE), in conjunction with the Colorado Department of Public Health and the Environment (CDPHE) will perform a hazard evaluation for the property. Following this evaluation, a decision will be made concerning the status of the land use change with regard to the risk of the property owner encountering UXO during the course of excavation. In the event that a perceived risk is present, one or more options will be offered to the landowner. These options include anomaly avoidance, UXO investigation and clearance consistent with the approved project schedule, or recommendation to the landowner to initiate his/her own UXO investigation and clearance with USACE providing reactive construction support. A construction support decision tree, including the chain of events and applicable options is provided below.

Anomaly Avoidance

Anomaly avoidance activities consist of conducting surface and subsurface surveys for metallic anomalies and advising property owners to avoid the locations of identified anomalies. The techniques used for such surveys are consistent with those described in the FLBGR Master Work Plan for other UXO investigation and clearance activities, including quality-control testing, safety, and documentation.

Reactive Construction Support

During normal working hours, Shaw Environmental, Inc. (the prime contractor for the USACE, Omaha District) responds to reports of suspected UXO discovered at the FLBGR. The response time to such reports is a function of the time of the call with respect to ongoing field operations and the availability of a two-person response team. Designated response personnel hold concurrent field duties and are not exclusively on call for reactive construction support. The field office support staff is typically available to receive phone calls at 303-690-3816 between 6:30 AM and 5:00 PM , Monday through Wednesday, and 6:30 AM to 12:00 PM, Thursdays. After hours or holiday calls are the responsibility of local law enforcement agencies. Additionally, Shaw and the USACE cannot guarantee that the FLBGR staff will respond on short notice during normal working hours. If Shaw cannot respond to a construction support situation, Shaw advises the individual requesting construction support to contact the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Department at 303-795-4711 (Central Dispatch).