Mothballing the Spring Creek Powerhouse, Lake Seminole, Decatur County, Georgia

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Mobile District, contracted with Brockington and Associates, Inc., to develop and to implement a plan for mothballing the ca. 1920 Spring Creek Powerhouse. Mothballing seeks to preserve significant buildings by controlling long-term deterioration while they are unoccupied, as well as protecting them from sudden loss by fire or vandalism. Brockington and Associates, with assistance from a consultant historical architect (Robert and Company) and subcontractors (Alternative Construction and Environmental Solutions [ACES], Insulation Supply Company, and Synergy Construction), conducted mothballing tasks in two stages. Stage I of this process included: identification and removal of hazardous materials; temporary sealing of pest entry points; architectural and historical documentation; building condition inspection; and development of a building stabilization/mothballing plan. During Stage II, we implemented time-sensitive tasks in the building stabilization/mothballing plan and developed a maintenance plan. Brockington and Associates, Inc., managed all phases of the project under an indefinite task order contract with the USACE Mobile and in accordance with the Stage I and Stage II Scopes of Work. All work under these task orders conformed to the standards and guidance set forth in the National Park Service's Preservation Brief 31: Mothballing Historic Buildings, by Sharon C. Park (1993). All activities were conducted in compliance and accordance with relevant safety and health legislation, regulations, and guidance mandated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the US Department of Health and Human Services (Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC]). Any and all hazardous materials were abated and hazardous conditions stabilized during Stage I, prior to entry of unprotected personnel into the building. This project provided historical and architectural documentation of the building, removed hazardous materials (asbestos and pigeon droppings), repaired/stabilized deteriorating building elements, installed a powered ventilation system, and sealed the building from pests and vandals. Maintenance activities followed the Secretary of Interior's Standards for Treatment of Historic Properties (1992), Guidelines for Preserving, Restoring, and Reconstructing Historic Buildings (Weeks and Grimmer 1996) and relevant National Park Service Preservation Briefs. Management recommendations for periodic inspections and maintenance are also provided.