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History
as it happens
Most of us know by now that
the Mare Island Naval Shipyard
is no longer a military base
and that the Shipyard closed
in 1996 after 143 years of building,
repairing and overhauling ships
and submarines. Thousands of
local residents are part of
Mare Islands long and distinguished
history. What we may not know
much about is the story unfolding
now, history taking shape
during its transition to public
and private use, as environmental
cleanup work gets finished and
property gets transferred.
The
Mare Island Restoration Advisory
Board (RAB) community members
have been involved in the environmental
restoration process since 1994.
We would like to share a brief
overview with the readers about
whats been happening with the
cleanup as Mare Island once
again becomes an integral part
of the City of Vallejo. We hope
the following will give some
insight.
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Major
Milestone
When the shipyard
closed in 1996, the assumption
by many city officials was that
any cleanup program would stretch
over a course of 20 to 30 years
for completion, derailing any
substantial economic redevelopment.
Many believed that some challenging
sites such as the hazardous
waste landfill area would lay
stagnant indefinitely. With
two history-making early transfers
of property this year, cleanup
of the entire shipyard is now
projected to be finished by
2008 and reuse has already been
jump-started. Although the process
seems painfully slow and regulators
are overworked with reams of
documents to review and approve,
the accomplishments are impressive.
Most
notable is the removal of radiological
contamination. The Navy spent
$130 million to complete this
project in the 2 years prior
to base closure. The work is
documented in a 37-volume report
and can be found at the JFK
Library in Vallejo. Also, vast
areas once filled with ordnance
or dumped ammunition and fuzes
have been cleared. More than
75 underground fuel
storage tanks have been removed
and large tracts of land having
serious chemical contamination
have been excavated. Asbestos
remediation was finished to
regulatory levels in 1998. The
Navy has spent $88 million on
these programs so far. The size
of Mare Island and complexity
of its past military use has
been a challenge and much work
has yet to be done. Site assessment,
sampling and removal plans continue
under the watchful eye of regulators
and input by the public.
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How
Clean Is Clean?
Land
use defines how the cleanup
progresses. Many stakeholders
are involved, using the Reuse
Plan that was developed by the
City of Vallejo in 1994 as their
guideline. Levels of clean are
determined by many factors such
as regulatory standards, types
of contaminants and anticipated
exposure, cleanup costs, State
Lands statutes, and community
acceptance. Residential use,
for instance, requires more
stringent standards those required
for use
in an industrial area.
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What
is Early Transfer
Accelerating
cleanup of military bases so
that property can be quickly
converted to civilian use while
protecting human health and
safety and the environment,
is an early transfer process
authorized by Congress in 1998.
A monumental partnering effort
between the City of Vallejo,
the Navy and the State of California
began when they agreed to take
advantage of this relatively
new way of completing environmental
cleanup and fast-tracking redevelopment
at closed military bases.
Two
of the Citys major developers,
Lennar Mare Island and Weston
Solutions, assumed cleanup responsibility
for their respective parcels
of land as defined by these
agreements. Governor Davis signed
the official transfer documents
this year. To date, the Navy
has delegated $77 million towards
the Lennar early transfer parcel
cleanup with $55.5 million more
towards Westons parcel to be
expended over the upcoming years.
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WHOS
WHO?
Navy
The Navy is the backbone of
the environmental remediation
for Mare Island and will retain
responsibility for the cleanup
well after it has been completed.
Because they now hold the most
challenging contaminated land,
access to certain areas is limited
and use restrictions are in
place for many leased buildings.
The Navy initially provides
funding which is then contracted
out for environmental studies,
sampling and analysis, feasibility
studies, work plans and cleanup
actions. About $194 million
has been spent or allocated
since closure in 1996.
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Regulators
California State
Environmental Protection Agency's
Department of Toxic Substances
Control (DTSC) is the main regulatory
agency for ensuring that environmental
restoration standards are met
by the Navy and developers performing
cleanup work. DTSC approves
all documents and is responsible
for enforcement of land use
restrictions and making sure
the public is informed. The
Regional Water Quality Control
Board is the lead agency regulating
petroleum related cleanups.
The Federal Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) also monitors the
process and reviews many of
the documents.
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Developers
This year, 650
acres of Mare Island were transferred
to Lennar Mare Island, the master
developer for what is called
the Eastern Early Transfer Parcel.
Restoration work continues at
the site with soil sampling
and PCB remediation in this
mixed use area. Several segments
that now meet
unrestricted reuse criteria
are being readied for residential
construction. The Eastern parcel
is expected to be cleaned to
regulatory standards within
the next 6 years.
Weston
Solutions, Inc., an environmental
engineering and redevelopment
firm, was granted a long term
lease in 2002 to remediate,
redevelop and manage 350 acres
of former Navy dredge ponds,
now referred to as the Western
Early Transfer Parcel, for permanent
storage of Bay Area dredged
material. When the ponds reach
capacity, the land will be returned
to a natural wildlife
habitat. As part of this transaction,
Weston was contracted to complete
cleanup of a 35-acre former
landfill, industrial wastewater
treatment facility, and waste
oil/lead battery disposal areas.
Others currently holding Mare
Island property include the
City of Vallejo, the State Lands
Commission, the golf course
owner, developers for Roosevelt
Terrace and several Federal
entities.
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State
Lands Commission
State Lands Commission
plays an important role in the
cleanup picture. Certain parts
of Mare Island reverted back
to the people of California
when the base closed, ending
a military use agreement lasting
143 years with the US Government.
The State Lands Commission insists
on certain standards requiring
environmental safety and public
access on these lands before
accepting the property back
from the Navy. During 2002,
the State leased most of the
property, called reversionary
lands, to the City of Vallejo,
some of which was then subleased
to Weston. The area includes
2800 acres of dredge ponds and
wetlands located at the western
shore.
As
part of a land exchange with
the State, another area to be
handed over to the City when
it becomes clean, is situated
near the southern end where
an ordnance (ammunition) manufacturing
area was located and a shoreline
where years of dumping ammunition
overboard was the common practice
of the time. A tremendous amount
of ordnance removal work was
previously conducted at this
location from 1998 to 2000.
The Navy is developing further
investigation and remediation
plans, projected to be ready
for transfer by 2008.
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The
Public and the RAB
The transition
of Mare Island from a military
base to civilian use has been
a model for the rest of the
nation. By participating in
the environmental cleanup process,
the RAB provides an opportunity
for the public to be part of
this important moment in history
affecting future generations.
RAB meetings continue to be
a forum where the community,
the Navy, State and
Federal regulators, City representatives
and master developers converge.
Meetings
are held regularly every month
(usually the last Thursday)
at the JFK Library in Vallejo
with presentations and reports
of key issues affecting the
cleanup. The public is welcome
to attend and learn more, and
express your concerns. Detailed
fact sheets describing specific
remedial actions are available,
as well as an enormous wealth
of information in the JFK Library
which is a repository for all
public documents related to
Mare Islands cleanup and reuse.
Contact
Myrna Hayes, Community CoChair
at 707-557-9816, or Michael Bloom,
Navy CoChair at 619-532-0967
with any questions.
Community
Members of the Mare Island Restoration
Advisory Board (RAB)
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