[CPEO-IRF] Moffett Field's (CA) wetlands and hangar

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Nearly 14 years after the decision was made to close Moffett Naval Air
Station, here in Mountain View/Sunnyvale, California, and eleven years
after the Navy flag was hauled down for the last time, cleanup issues
remain unresolved in four major areas. The article below addresses two
of them.

At Site 25, the Stormwater Retention Pond, the Navy appears willing to
meet community demands for a cleanup that will allow wetlands
restoration. The original proposal called for institutional controls,
which would have kept fish out of the pond.

At Hangar 1, the massive landmark blimp hangar, no one knows yet how to
address built-in contamination. If funding can be found, the Hangar is
planned to become a major air and space museum and educational center.

Moffett is not subject to Section 120(h) of CERCLA, which limits the
transfer of contaminated federal property to non-federal entities,
because most of the installation was turned over to NASA's Ames Research
Center. But it's the pollution, not the law, that creates environmental
challenges for future use.

I am a long-time member of the Moffett Restoration Advisory Board, but I
was across the country at other meetings at the time of the events
described below.

Lenny

***





Mixed bag for Moffett makeover 
Full cleanup likely at Site 25, demolition an option for Hangar One 

By Jon Wiener 
Mountain View Voice (CA)
May 20, 2005


The Navy just can't seem to catch a break. 

At several public events last week, officials indicated that they could
afford to clean up a polluted Moffett Field wetlands area to a level
that should make just about everybody happy. 

The next day, those same officials were in the unenviable position of
announcing that they may have to knock down Hangar One, an idea that did
not sit too well with long-time residents. 

That's life for the Navy these days: For every bit of good news, the bad
news is close behind. 

Officials say there will be plenty of good news in an upcoming report on
the cleanup of the wetlands area known as Site 25. But, if last week's
Restoration Advisory Board meeting is any indication, the bad news on
Hangar One could wind up attracting most of the public's attention. 

...

For the rest of the article, see
http://www.mv-voice.com/morgue/2005/2005_05_20.anavy.shtml

-- 


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
_______________________________________________
Installation_Reuse_Forum mailing list
Installation_Reuse_Forum@list.cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org/mailman/listinfo/installation_reuse_forum