FORT ORD'S TOXIC LEGACY

[Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@igc.org>]

From: Aimee Houghton <aimeeh@igc.org>

************ Warning: This Is A Long Article **************

FORT ORD'S TOXIC LEGACY June 24, 1996
By Nicholas Whirehead

The environmental cleanup of the former Fort Ord base may turn into a
dangerous fiasco threatening the health, safety, and economic viability of
Monterey Bay area for decades to come, as the Army seeks to hand over its
contaminated buildings and property in an unsafe condition to home-builders,
school districts, business developers, universities, and a whole host of
other unwitting recipients. Following its own plan and guidelines, with
virtually no unbiased monitoring, the Army plans to maneuver the majority of
the accumulated toxins into a single landfill location called a Corrective
Action Management Unit (CAMU), and then enclose the "witches' brew" into a
Chernobyl-style, sealed solid pot that will have to be watched forever.
Hopefully it will never leak, or worse "boil over". 

Such risky procedures alarm Curt Gandy, Director of the Fort Ord Toxics
Project, a former union Health and Safety Officer, who has been elected to
Co-Chair Fort Ord's Restoration Advisory Board (RAB), along with an Army
Co-Chair appointed by the Army's Garrison Commander. The Fort Ord RAB is the
"citizens oversight" committee required by a directive issued by the
Secretary of Defense to the Army, in September of 1993. 

Gandy says, "According to the Secretary of the Army, our citizens review
committee (the RAB) is suppose to be 'fully involved' in the 'risk ranking',
and 'cleanup prioritization' of contaminated land parcels and structures
being transferred to the public. The Army guidance also states that the
citizens oversight committee (the RAB) is suppose to advise the Army, and the
Fort Ord Reuse Authority (FORA) as to the 'suitability of property for
transfer' and its future reuse." Additionally, he asserts that the RAB
should be "participating fully in the Army's budgeting process for
accomplishing these cleanup tasks." He says, "the RAB has a budget of
$120,000 dollars for FY 1996 and should be conducting studies to advise the
Army, the Base Cleanup Team (BCT) and the public regarding the Army's
proposed cleanup levels, and project priorities.'

The BCT is the decision making body that "negotiates" with the Army, the
cleanup timelines, and target cleanup goals. The federal and state
regulatory members of the BCT are responsible for enforcing any reuse
restrictions that will inevitably result based on a less than complete
cleanup. The Base Cleanup Team (BCT) is made-up four members, they represent
the US-EPA, two State of California agencies, and the US Army. 

Gandy, a dedicated and determined environmentalist and labor representative
worked on Fort Ord for over a decade, and has been involved in environmental
and labor issues at the former Army base since the mid 1980s. He is at odds
with Congressman Sam Farr's and other local political official's concurrence
with the Army's existing base cleanup process. Gandy explains that wider
public scrutiny of the Fort Ord cleanup, and related reuse plan is sorely
needed. President Clinton's 1993 directive known as "The President's Five
Part Plan for Closing Bases" established a process for the cleanup and
conversion of closing military bases. Gandy believes greater public
awareness and involvement in the cleanup and conversion of the Fort Ord
Superfund site will ensure a safer, saner, more reasonable, cleanup and
conversion plan, that will be environmentally and economically sustainable
for our region. He asserts, "if you give the public all of the facts, they
will make the right decisions." 

Regarding local citizens and public participation Gandy points out, "The
Army has been directed by the President, Secretary of Defense, and Secretary
of the Army to involve our local citizens and the public in the oversight and
planning of the cleanup and reuse of this former Army base; yet at the
installation level, here at Fort Ord, the Army has gone out of its way to
confuse and debase any true community involvement through the RAB by
controlling the access to basic information." He claims the Army has
effectively stifled citizens and RAB members oversight efforts, and their
attempts to be meaningfully involved in the cleanup process by poor
administrative support to the Board, and keeping the members tied-up with
procedural issues that do not address the issues of adequate cleanup. "What
people need to understand," he says, "is if the Army does not cleanup its'
mess before they transfer property and leave here, California taxpayers will
be paying to clean it up for years to come and we will be paying for it
twice." He adds, "The Army does not want watchdogs, they want lapdogs !'

Gandy doubts the safety and environmental stability of the "recreational
areas" being planned for public use on Fort Ord. The Army has fired tons of
copper jacketed, lead bullets into the 7 miles of Army controlled coastal
sand dunes, bordering the Monterey Bay Marine Sanctuary. The Army's
"proposed plan" to remove the lead contamination resulting from decades of
target practice, will leave a lead contamination level (1,860 ppm), nearly
twice the California's legal threshold (1,000 ppm) that establishes the dunes
area as a hazardous waste site for lead. "Knowing the FORA Reuse Plan calls
for an 'Asilomar-like' State Park with camping, picnicking and other
recreational uses," Gandy says, "it is unbelievable that the Army proposes
allowing family camping on what will essentially be a hazardous waste site
for lead according to California law." 

He also doubts the quality, and availability of a future drinking water
supply, contaminated by military solvents. In one case the validity of
"confirmation tests" on water and soil samples taken at Fort Ord are in
question. The tests performed by NETI labs of Santa Rosa, an environmental
contractor working for the Army, has been suspended by the US-EPA following
allegations it falsified its test results. Other matters of contention are
local contracting, the illegal bypassing of local job seekers trained for
hazardous materials cleanup work, and the allocation of military housing and
jobs to those willing to maintain an environmental "vow of silence". 

The Monterey County Herald, (June 21st 1996), announced the Fort Ord Reuse
Authority's "public hearing" on the Fort Ord Reuse Plan, and its
Environmental Impact Report (EIR). FORA released the four volume set, 
available to the public at $120 dollars per copy, on May 31st, 1996. 
The "public comment" period closes 45 days after that date, on July 
15th, 1996.

If you find these issues disturbing, you are but one of the growing number of
concerned citizens who are demanding examination of these, and other very
serious environmental cleanup and redevelopment issues which are not
adequately being addressed by the Army, and the FORA Board. Attend the FORA
"public hearing" on the Fort Ord Reuse Plan and the Environmental Impact
Report, a public hearing is required by the California Environmental Quality
Act (CEQA). It is scheduled for Monday, July 1st, 1996, at the Oldemeyer
Center on Hilby Ave., in the City of Seaside. The meeting is from 7 PM - 9
PM. Request in writing, a 90 day extension of the public comment 
period on the Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

In addition, concerned citizens should request in writing, a 90 day extension
of the public comment period and a public hearing for each of the Army's
two Proposed Plans for the Fort Ord Superfund cleanup Record Of Decision
(ROD). The current public comment periods for both of the Army's Proposed
Plans, including Site 3, the beach firing ranges closes on July 8th, 1996.

These two Proposed Plans are the first of several cleanup proposals that
will be forth coming from the Army, to address other contaminated land
parcels on the Fort Ord Superfund site. Each Proposed Plan must be
reviewed by the public, for at least 30 days, and a public hearing held if
the public requests one, prior to the signing of a Record of Decision 
(ROD) on each Superfund site. 

For more information and assistance call the Fort Ord Toxics Project at 
(408) 375-9464 (Voice/ Fax), or e-mail FOTP at < cgumbi@aol.com >

{Contributed by Nicholas Whitehead, member of the Regional Alliance for
Progressive Policies (RAPP)} >>