On behalf of my colleagues on the Board, thank you for letting us know about how the loud pile-driving noise associated with the construction of Amazon's HQ2 in Crystal City is affecting you. We have heard from a number of people about how difficult it is to be home all day during this pandemic and forced to endure this loud construction noise. 

The County Board does not have the authority to halt a legally approved project because of associated construction noise. The County has reached out to the project manager about this issue, however, who understands that the piledriving is disruptive for the near neighbors. As a courtesy, he has agreed to start work at the site a little later in the morning -- 8 a.m. instead of 7 a.m. There will be no pile driving on the weekends. The pile driving is expected to take about six weeks. 

We are also concerned about reports of workers not practicing social distancing, not increasing sanitation of common surfaces and other appropriate workplace guidance from state and federal authorities. I should note that the Governor's Office FAQ on his Emergency Order says this about businesses that are considered essential and gatherings of more than 10 people: "For the purposes of this order, employment settings are not considered gatherings. However, all essential businesses must, to the extent possible, practice social distancing, increase sanitizing of common surfaces, and other appropriate workplace guidance from state and federal authorities." 

If you are seeing groups of 10 or more workers gathering in close quarters, or other clear violations of social distancing provisions, you can report those violations to the Virginia Department of Labor. They are taking health and safety complaints about workplace conditions. Certain activities on a construction site may require that workers come into close contact to complete a task, or to ensure they are working safely. However, if you see egregious behavior, including employees disregarding guidelines, you can report this on the Arlington County Police Departments Non-Emergency line at 703-558-2222. 

Thank you, again, for reaching out to the Board about this issue. I hope that you find this information helpful, and I am very sorry there is not more we can do about the noise at this time. 

Sincerely,

Libby Garvey, Chair 

Arlington County Board