11/2/4, from Sherry Padgett:
Notice the reference to "daily street sweeping". Not happening daily and streets are covered with so much dust, we haven't seen the double yellow lines on South 47th Street and Meade Street since Thursday, 10/28/04. Sent note to Terry Seward and Cecil Felix, San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board early this morning regarding dirt on streets. Another email was sent by UC Field Station employee with similar comment today.
S.

Remediation and Marsh Restoration Phase 3 Update, October 29, 2004

The campus is continuing to implement a cleanup and restoration plan for contaminated areas of the UC Berkeley's Richmond Field Station. Industrial activities that took place prior to UC ownership of the site polluted parts of the property and the adjacent marsh. The University's ultimate goal for the area is to clean up, enhance, and restore the uplands, shoreline and marsh habitat.

If you have questions about the exact locations of any of the work areas described, please contact a member of the project team (contact information below).

The remediation project now has a website with some basic information about the project and these weekly updates. It is now online at: http://www.cp.berkeley.edu/RFS_MarshRR.html

Recently Completed Activities
-Backfilling work areas near the asphalt pads in the western part of the RFS. Following some final grading of the surface soil, the area will be replanted with native vegetation and grass to match the pre-existing conditions.
-Excavation of chemically-affected soil from an area located immediately south of the asphalt pads at the western part of the RFS. Following excavation, the area was backfilled with clean fill material.
-Cutting a new channel and regrading of marsh areas that were remediated last year (winter 2003). The re-grading process included lowering the ground surface in the marsh area by six inches to one foot to allow better recharge of tidal water to the area to better facilitate the marsh restoration process.
-Removing dry sediment in the concrete-lined surface trench drain immediately adjacent to Building 277, rinsing out accumulated sediment in a small section of storm drain pipe south of Building 158, and removing caulking from between joints in the concrete parking area south of Building 158. The dry sediment was removed by hand using a shovel and shop vacuum then rinsed using a hand-held pressure washer. The collected sediment and water were collected in a 55-gallon drum and will be disposed off-site at an approved facility.
-Transporting the clean sand that was stockpiled south of the asphalt pads and moving it to an area immediately north of Building 128. The sand will be used as needed by the RFS Facilities staff or future project requirements.


Ongoing Site Activities

Activities currently in progress include:

Performing off-site haulage of soil temporarily stockpiled on the asphalt pads to an approved landfill facility. Scheduled shipping times for off-site transport of the materials is between 7 am and 1 pm. The contractor is scheduling between 20 and 40 truck loads per day. The haul trucks are accessing the site from Meade Street using the South 47^th Street entrance on the adjacent property and proceeding down along South 46^th Street to the asphalt pads. The off-site haul trucks are being instructed to reduce speeds to 10 to 15 mph while on South 46^th Street. The contractor is performing daily street sweeping on roads traveled by transport trucks and roads are being washed down to reduce dust levels. Shipping manifests for each truck are being reviewed and signed by an authorized EH&S representative.

Excavating chemically-affected soil an area located along Lark Drive near Buildings 275 and 277. This activity is tentatively scheduled to be completed Friday, October 29^th , however, the contractor is hand digging soil around several water pipes in one of the areas so the task is taking a little longer than anticipated. The excavated soil is being transported to the asphalt pads prior to being shipped off site at an approved landfill facility. The contractor has begun backfilling the remaining excavated sections of that work area and should be complete with this activity by Friday afternoon, Oct. 29. This is the final area to be excavated during the Phase 3 activities.

Placing grass sod in two areas that were excavated near Buildings 445 and 484. The contractor also replaced portions of the irrigation systems that were removed during excavation activities.


Anticipated Activities for Next Week (October 29 to November 5, 2004)

Anticipated activities for next week include:

-Depending on weather conditions, off-site haulage of soil temporarily stockpiled on the asphalt pads to an approved landfill facility will resume on Monday November 1^st and continue throughout the week until the remaining soil is loaded from the asphalt pads. Scheduled shipping times for off-site transport of the materials is between 7 am and 1 pm. The contractor anticipates shipping out between 20 and 40 truck loads per day. The haul trucks are accessing the site from Meade Street using the South 47^th Street entrance on the adjacent property and proceeding down along South 46^th Street to the asphalt pads. The off-site haul trucks are being instructed to reduce speeds to 10 to 15 mph while on South 46^th Street. The contractor is performing daily street sweeping on roads traveled by transport trucks. Shipping manifests for each truck are being reviewed and signed by an authorized EH&S representative.

-The contractor will be installing erosion control measures in areas disturbed by site activities. The areas disturbed by excavation or where former stockpiles were removed will be hydroseeded (given a coating to prevent erosion that includes plant seeds) using native vegetation and grass to match the pre-existing conditions. Fibrous jute mats are also expected to be used.

-Replacing damaged and installing new sections of fencing at various locations affected by site activities.

-Depending on the progress of off-site shipment of soil currently stockpiled on the asphalt pads, the contractor may begin cleaning the asphalt pads. The pads will be swept and pressure washed to remove any remaining soil.

-Performing final project items as identified by the project team.


Site activities are tentatively scheduled to be completed by Wednesday, November 10, 2004. Updates on this schedule will be included in next week's update.


During the remediation work, the access trail to the Bay Trail from the Field station will remain open for use when feasible. However, the project team expects to close it at times for safety reasons. Signs will be posted 24 hours in advance when possible to notify you of closure of the RFS Bay Trail access. The path can remain open only if everyone stays within the safe corridors, so please do not stray into the work zones.


Health and Safety Issues

Dust suppression is an important concern and every effort will be made to control “fugitive” dust.
Air monitoring is being performed throughout the project to ensure dust suppression is in compliance with accepted limits. The work areas and along the perimeter fence lines of the work zone are being monitored for particulate matter during work hours. The campus office of Environment Health & Safety (EH&S) is performing oversight of the monitoring done by the environmental consultants.

Anna Moore is the campus EH&S contact – she works at the RFS and can be reached by phone at 231-9584 or e-mail at amorel@berkeley.edu. If Anna is not available, please contact one of the staff listed below. Air monitoring data collected to date for site activities has shown the dust levels are well below the accepted limits. EH&S is maintaining a weekly report of readings and this information is being kept on file. Air monitoring data is now online at: http://www.cp.berkeley.edu/RFS_MarshRR.html



Contact information

If you have any urgent environmental health concerns, please contact EH&S directly at 510 642-3073.

Project Contacts:
Christine Shaff, Facilities Services 643-4793 or cshaff@cp.berkeley.edu.

Mike Hryciw, Capital Projects 642-3057 or mhryciw@cp.berkeley.edu


Updates will be sent out weekly by the project management team during construction, or more frequently as needed to keep you informed of changing conditions. Your feedback is welcome.

Please keep in mind that all construction projects are subject to scheduling intricacies that can result in day-to-day changes in planned events.