Re: [CPEO-BIF] Visit to Disposal Gardens, Torrance, California

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[Submitted by David Rothbart <DRothbart@lacsd.org>]

Mr. Siegel,

I'm a supervising engineer at the Los Angeles County Sanitation 
Districts. The Sanitation Districts are responsible for maintaining an 
extensive network of environmental control systems at the Palos Verdes 
Landfill. The site is equipped with: (1) a subsurface cement-bentonite 
barrier and groundwater extraction wells to prevent subsurface migration 
of groundwater, (2) an extensive network of groundwater monitoring wells 
to assess offsite water quality, and (3) hundreds of landfill gas 
collection wells that ensure landfill gas does not migrate from the 
site. We also ensure that surface water is not impacted by the landfill 
and industrial wastewater meets permit limits before being discharged to 
the sanitary sewer system. These control systems ensure that 
contaminants within the landfill do not migrate from the site. The Palos 
Verdes Landfill is strictly regulated by the Department of Toxic 
Substances Control (DTSC), South Coast Air Quality Management District, 
Regional Water Quality Control Board and other agencies.

This morning, I noticed a description of your field visit to the 
"Disposal Gardens" and wanted to provide some additional information for 
your consideration (http://www.cpeo.org/brownfields/brown.html). The 
primary purpose of this message is to respond to a statement included on 
your website. Specifically your website states, "Officials aren’t sure 
about solid waste disposal, but their records show that large quantities 
of petroleum wastes were poured into sumps on the site. In addition, 
stormwater and wastewater was purposely diverted from the Palos Verdes 
Landfill onto the site, and Landfill leachate may also have migrated 
beneath the surface. California’s Department of Toxic Substances Control 
has documented that the Palos Verdes Landfill is leaking offsite into 
the surrounding community." I can assure you that no contaminated 
stormwater or wastewater was diverted from the Palos Verdes Landfill to 
the Disposal Gardens. The Sanitation Districts have conducted an 
extensive remedial investigation around the Palos Verdes Landfill and 
found no landfill impacts on the Disposal Gardens area. The supporting 
information on the Palos Verdes Landfill and the remedial investigation 
is available at the following website: 
http://www.lacsd.org/swaste/PostClosure/PalosVerdes.htm";

I would greatly appreciate if you would update your website to reflect 
this correction. In addition, you may want to discuss Joan Davidson's 
and Claudia McCulloch's concerns with DTSC's Project Manager (Dan Zogaib 
- 714-484-5483). Mr. Zogaib has attempted to address their concerns for 
a few years. Regarding the status of the Disposal Gardens investigation, 
contact Pete Oda at the County of Los Angeles Department of Health. His 
telephone number is 626-430-5540.. Please feel free to contact me and we 
can discuss any questions or concerns you may have about the Palos 
Verdes Landfill.

Sincerely,

David Rothbart


David L. Rothbart, P.E.
Supervising Engineer
Technical Services Department
Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts
1955 Workman Mill Road
Whittier, CA 90607
Telephone: (562) 699-7411, ext. 2412
FAX: (562) 692-2941


Lenny Siegel wrote:
> Disposal Gardens
> Torrance, California
> Lenny Siegel
> May, 2006
>
> On April 30, 2006, I visited the Disposal Gardens (an intriguing name, 
> to say the least) site in Torrance, California. Also known as Torrance 
> Sand and Gravel, Country Hills Tract Homes, and Rolling Hills Estates, 
> the site covers 125 acres on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, south of 
> downtown Los Angeles. My hosts, Joan Davidson and Claudia McCulloch, 
> have earned their wings insisting on the cleanup and opposing the 
> redevelopment of the adjacent Palos Verdes Landfill into a golf course.
>
> Sand and gravel operations began in the 1920s, and according to the 
> activists - citing long-time area residents - the Army began to dump 
> wastes into the vast pits in 1941. It's also possible that the Navy, 
> which had massive industrial operations in Long Beach, disposed of waste 
> there too. Officials aren't sure about solid waste disposal, but their 
> records show that large quantities of petroleum wastes were poured into 
> sumps on the site. In addition, stormwater and wastewater was purposely 
> diverted from the Palos Verdes Landfill onto the site, and Landfill 
> leachate may also have migrated beneath the surface. California's 
> Department of Toxic Substances Control has documented that the Palos 
> Verdes Landfill is leaking offsite into the surrounding community.
>
> In the early 1970s the city of Torrance approved a development plan for 
> the site that included filling the 100-foot deep gravel pits and mixing 
> waste oil with sand as fill. Today the site includes a shopping center, 
> a park, and $900,000 homes. The Country Hills Tract, built from 1972-78, 
> has 450 homes as well as other connecting streets that were built at the 
> same time by other builders.
>
> Since construction, the subdivision has been plagued with collapsing 
> hillsides,  cracking foundations and driveways, and discolored water 
> bubbling up into basements and garages. In 2001 there was a major 
> landslide that affected 24 homes. Residents reportedly had to spend over 
> $150,000 per home, without government assistance, to erect enormous 
> concrete walls with steel reinforcement beams bolted into the steep 
> hillside.
>
> In August, 2005 representatives of the California Integrated Waste 
> Management Board, which oversees landfills, came down to Torrance to 
> meet with residents. The agency developed a workplan to sample for 
> landfill gases, and it conducted those tests in March, 2006. As far as I 
> know, the results have not  yet been released.
>
> To the casual observer, Country Hills looks like any other middle-class 
> subdivision. But if one looks closely, there are massive retaining walls 
> behind many of the homes, discolored concrete, and unknown liquids 
> emerging from the ground. It is striking that as recently as the 
> mid-1970s, a developer was allowed to build and sell housing on such a 
> messy piece of property And it's surprising that such a subdivision, 
> built on petroleum wastes, ended up with affluent residents. It's not 
> surprising, however, that many have taken the developers to court.
>
> To download this report as a 2-page, 336 K Word file with pictures, go 
> to http://www.cpeo.org/brownfields/DisposalGardens.doc.





--


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org


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