From: Sherry Padgett
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 7:01 PM
To: Gayle McLaughlin; Tom Butt
Subject: FW: Regatta Business Center

Gayle/Tom -

Following is Barbara Cook's response to the Regatta Business Park dirt pile inquiry.
Another good example of the need for City of Richmond permit change on toxic sites.
While Barbara Cook, Chief Enforcement Person at DTSC, is not pursuing further
action, given the location, historic use and arsenic numbers, it could have just as easily been another problem site.

Any plans to get the Building Department to make the long overdue staff
recommendations on Ordinance changes for grading permits? I thought the
ordinance change proposed in March 2005 was good to go. Interesting how
waiting for the City of Richmond staff recommendations stalled the passage
and then stalled again in follow-up. Sometimes I wonder if they think we
will just forget about it. Every time I see an earthmoving machine on this
toxic property, I think about the need for the City of Richmond ordinance
change as a grading permit stop gap on toxic sites.

S.


-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara Cook [BCook@dtsc.ca.gov]
Sent: Tuesday, June 21, 2005 5:28 PM
To: Sherry Padgett
Subject: Regatta Business Center

Sherry and Gayle-

I hope this responds to all the notes I have received on this topic

Is DTSC involved in the soil movement and insuring they are not piling
and hauling away hazardous waste or other toxic material?

The property was historically used by PG&E as a maintenance facility
for their transformers. The property once had 3 underground storage
tanks. Those tanks were removed under the oversight of the Contra Costa
County Health Services Department in 1985. The records indicate that
the County felt no additional work was required. Groundwater testing
was performed and only total petroleum hydrocarbons were detected and
neither the County nor the Board required any further actions.

The pdf file listed below is soil sampling results for the stockpile.
The results show no problems with the soil. It does not contain any
hazardous waste levels nor other toxic materials. The arsenic levels
may be above sceening levels. However, in the Bay Area, background
levels for arsenic typically range between 2 to 19 ppm so I don't see
any problems with the arsenic levels found in the stockpile. Because the
levels are below toxic levels, DTSC is not involved in the stockpiling
and movement of the soil.

The Water Board (Cecil Felix) was involved in a fairly extensive
groundwater test about one year ago near or around BioRad. He mentioned
in passing that chemicals common to Zeneca were baffling them . . . It
might have been this property? Given the proximity to the Field Station
and Zeneca/Cherokee-Simeon/Campus Bay, has DTSC been consulted?

The test analysis I have seen only detected petroleum related compounds
in the groundwater. So I do not believe that the current chemicals
detected are related to what has been found at either the Richmond field
Station or to the Zeneca site. Because the transformers may have had
PCBs in them, there have been allegations made that this property may be
the source of the PCB at the Richmond Field Station. However, at this
time documentation has not been found to make that connection. UC is
dealing with the PCB has part of their ongoing remediation efforts.
Regatta Business Park is actually closer to the Richmond Field Station.


The most current issue is the amount of dirt leaving the property
(airborne and falling off trucks), the question of its toxicity and
ongoing permits/oversight/inspections.

Both DTSC and the Air District have inspected the site since we have
received your notes and we have discussed dust control issues with the
contractor doing the work. If ongoing problems are observed (dust or
material falling off the trucks), please contact either DTSC or the Air
District and we will follow-up with the property owner.