ContraCostaTimes.com
November 20, 2004

Toxic site cleanup criticized


Page 1 of 2

By Rebecca Rosen Lum
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
RICHMOND - The last delivery of "clean mud" imported to the contaminated Campus Bay site in October turned out to be a casserole of large car parts, chunks of concrete, pieces of plastic, and tree trunks, pasted together with mud, say critics of the cleanup effort to the 85-acre former Stauffer Chemical site.
Those critics cheered the changeover in authority for the project this week from the state Regional Water Quality Control Board, which they describe as uncommunicative and lax, to the more demanding state Department of Toxic Substances Control.
But the critics are concerned they are at the wrong end of a bait-and-switch delivery that will further contaminate the site -- and that no one with authority is watching.
At issue are 17 acres in and around Stege Marsh. Crews are excavating 25,000 cubic yards of mud contaminated by toxic materials. Eighty truckloads of clean Bay mud are rolling in to fill the resulting three-foot-deep hole.
"It's a pure restoration project -- preservation of wildlife habitat," said Karen Stern, a contract spokeswoman for the Campus Bay developers.
Developers Cherokee Simeon proposed a 1,300-unit residential development, including both townhouse and high-rise apartments on the site. The property is being cleaned by Levine-Fricke of Emeryville.
Officials from the water board did not return repeated phone calls Friday.
Where the mud is coming from remains a mystery. It reportedly came from the Port of Oakland, which tests material contractors remove; those deemed tainted are directed to an appropriate disposal site. But port officials said they know nothing about the 30,000 tons that rolled into Campus Bay this week.
Cleanup operations on the remainder of the 85-acre site have ceased until sometime next week, according to Barbara Cook of the Department of Toxic Substances Control.
Critics question the wisdom of building a 1,300-unit housing development on grounds that for decades sopped up the by-products of pesticide and chemical manufacturing. They have slammed government agencies, particularly the water board, for failing to keep the public informed of the clean-up operation and its hazards.
A representative of the toxics department visited Thursday and gave the OK for clean Bay mud to be dumped in the marshes.


November 20, 2004

Toxic site cleanup criticized


Page 2 of 2
By Rebecca Rosen Lum
CONTRA COSTA TIMES
"I told (Cook) we had not seen the certificate from Port of Oakland certifying mud as clean and that we have reason to suspect it could be a bait and switch batch," said Sherry Padgett, who works in a neighboring business and has spearheaded opposition to the project.
Cook said she has no authority over what the regional water board approved to be dumped into the marsh.
"Handing over control to DTSC should have meant handing over total control, with the water board reporting to DTSC on matters relating to the marsh -- not a standoff at the edge of the cap where it meets the marsh," Padgett said.
Critics "are making a mountain out of a molehill, to my way of thinking," said Campus Bay engineer Bill Collins.
"At first, we got an excessive amount of debris and we stopped it," he said. "But it met the (water board) criteria. Only people involved in this project care about (debris in mud). They've been stirred up into a frenzy. For the rest of the world, nobody cares."
Collins said mud is thoroughly analyzed before it is declared suitable for use as fill.
"If we're being hysterical, if there's no risk, tell us that," said Jess Kray, a mechanical engineer with a business downwind from Campus Bay. "But they're not doing that. They're not giving us any evidence. We're right next door to a place where toxic chemicals were produced for more than 100 years, and that brownfield is being disturbed, and they're saying, 'Don't worry about it.' I don't believe them. It's too risky."