From: | Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org> |
Date: | Fri, 26 Mar 1999 18:03:10 -0800 (PST) |
Reply: | cpeo-military |
Subject: | Benicia DTSC Correspondence |
About two weeks ago I posted the draft of a letter to Cal-EPA about the oversight of an ordnance cleanup and redevelopment project in Benicia, California. Several of the members of this listserver joined in endorsing the letter. We faxed the letter, a copy of which appears at the end of this message, on the afternoon of March 24. It seems to have made a difference. I received a phone response on March 25 and a faxed letter, pasted below, today. DTSC's official position is that it is studying the Benicia unexploded ordnance situation, and that it is still determining what oversight role the agency should play. Clearly state officials now know that people throughout the state - in fact, across the nation - are watching both the process and outcome in Benicia, so I am confident that they will do the right thing. Please note that we have slightly updated the list of signers since we submitted the letter to Cal-EPA. Lenny Siegel [The reply, on DTSC Stationery] March 26, 1999 Mr. Lenny Siegel Executive Director Center for Public Environmental Oversight SFSU Downtown Center 425 Market St., 2nd Floor San Francisco, CA 94105 Dear Mr. Siegel: Thank you for your correspondence dated March 24, 1999 regarding the Tourtelot Property in the City of Benicia. The purpose of this letter is to provide a response and clarify the effort the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has underway regarding this site. DTSC became aware of the Memorandum of Agreement between the City of Benicia and the US Army Corps of Engineer (Corps) when some of the staff who are working on the Braito Landfill cleanup obtained a copy of a local newspaper article. DTSC received from the City a copy of their Resolution No. 99-8 on February 19, 1999. The resolution listed a number of contractual agreements but the text of the various agreements were not included with the letter. On March 3, 1999, I met with staff from the Office of Military Facilities to discuss some issues and questions regarding the working relationship between the City, the Corps, and the developer. A number of actions were agreed upon including obtaining copies of all the agreements, conducting a detailed review of them, compiling a series of questions, and arranging for a meeting with the Corps to go over DTSC's initial list of questions. We have requested a copy of the Statement of Work between the City and the Corps, but have been told it is still being drafted. Staff are continuing this effort. We anticipate completing this phase of our research next week. A meeting with the City, the Corps, and the developer has been arranged for April 2, 1999 in Sacramento. When DTSC has gathered all the facts, it will be in a position to determine an appropriate course of action. Finally, your letter includes a number of copies to individuals for whom we do not have addresses. As we discussed, I would appreciate your seeing that they also receive a copy of this response. If you have any questions, please contact Mr. Stan Phillippe of my staff at .... Sincerely, Paul D. Blais Deputy Director Site Mitigation Program cc: [Winston Hickox, Ed Lowry, Bob Borzelleri, Stan Phillippe] [The original letter, on CPEO stationery] March 24, 1999 Winston H. Hickox Secretary for Environmental Protection 555 Capitol Mall, Suite 525 Sacramento, CA 95814 Dear Sir: We are writing because it appears that Cal-EPA is failing to oversee the cleanup of an extremely sensitive former military site in the city of Benicia. The "Tourtelot Property," formerly part of the Benicia Arsenal, is slated for residential development. Even though the Army Corps of Engineers continues to find old munitions on the site - and there may be other contaminants present - the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) is not taking an active role in remedial efforts. Instead, as the city of Benicia assumes lead agency role on behalf of the site's developer, DTSC appears to be relying upon the Army - the responsible party - to provide "regulatory oversight." This hands-off attitude not only creates a significant risk for the people who will eventually live on the Tourtelot Property, it sets a dangerous precedent. The Army Corps lists 143 formerly used defense sites in California known or suspected to contain unexploded ordnance. While the Corps runs a professional program for characterizing and remediating those sites, its program is severely constrained by both technology and funding. Without state insistence that unexploded ordnance response be conducted to maximize the reduction of risk, incidents, such as the 1983 death of two boys at the Tierra Santa site in San Diego, are inevitable. Nationally, state environmental agencies are insisting upon the right to participate in the management of risk at munitions ranges and burial sites. U.S. EPA recognized this authority in the Munitions Rule, and the Defense Department recognized it in the Proposed Range Rule. However, unless state regulators assert their rightful roles, the federal rules are meaningless. We ask that you immediately instruct DTSC to assign staff to the Tourtelot project before someone gets hurt. Sincerely, Lenny Siegel Executive Director Additional sign-ons: Saul Bloom, ARC Ecology Anne Callison, Lowry Air Force Base RAB* Rocco Davis, Laborers International Union Tri-Funds John Gibbons, John E. Gibbons Associates Don Gray, Environmental and Energy Study Institute Myrna Hayes, Mare Island Naval Shipyard RAB Ted Henry, Community Health Assessment and Public Participation Center Bonnie Holmes-Gen, Sierra Club Joan Holtzman, Center for Economic Conversion Richard Hugus, Otis Conversion Project Gregory F. Hurley, El Toro Marine Corps Air Station RAB Doug Kern, Presidio of San Francisco RAB Patrick Lynch, Clearwater Revival Co. Pam Miller, Adak Naval Air Station and Fort Richardson RABs Laura Olah, Citizens for Safe Water at Badger Elizabeth Patterson, member, Benicia Planning Commission Grace Potorti, Rural Alliance for Military Accountability Peter Strauss, P.M. Strauss and Associates Diane Takvorian, San Diego Environmental Health Coalition Ray Tompkins, Bayview Hunters Point Coalition on the Environment Olin Webb, Bayview Advocates Jane Williams, California Communities Against Toxics Charles Yarbrough Sr., McClellan Air Force Base RAB *RAB (Restoration Advisory Board) affiliations are shown for identification purposes only. cc: Ed Lowry, Director, Department of Toxic Substances Control -- Lenny Siegel Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041 Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545 Fax: 650/968-1126 lsiegel@cpeo.org (PLEASE NOTE THAT WE ARE PHASING OUT MY OLD E-MAIL ADDRESS: lsiegel@igc.org) http://www.cpeo.org | |
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