Terminal One pollution cleanup plan likely 'on track' for approval, regulators say

   POINT RICHMOND - The latest proposed remedial action plan on how to complete the clean up of lingering pollutants at the Terminal One site in Point Richmond may be close to winning approval from the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Jeffrey White

     "The RAP (remedial action plan) is on track for approval," Jeffrey White of the water quality control board said.
     White made his comment at the outset of a one and a half hour public hearing Wednesday evening on the RAP that included presentations by attorney Cleve Livingston (representing developer Laconia) and Frank Szerdy of the environmental consulting firm Wood of Oakland.
     The hearing was held at Richmond Public Library.
     The meeting was highlighted by close questioning from audience members about the cleanup plan itself, parking, scheduling of construction, dust control and particularly whether a proposed "slurry wall" is adequate.
     The slurry wall is supposed to keep remaining pollutants in the ground from flowing from underneath the proposed 316-unit condominiums and single family home development into San Francisco Bay.

Proposed slurry wall to contain pollutants on site

     Brian Lewis, a member of Brickyard Cove Alliance for Responsible Development said he is concerned that the 12-foot slurry wall won't be deep enough to stop flows from the property into the bay.
     Environmental consultant Szerdy said the slurry wall and other pollution control measures are part of a "conceptual plan" being presented with details the water board will consider before giving any final nod to the cleanup plan.
     "But it has to work," Szerdy said.
      Lewis also challenged the developer and consultant on whether there has been adequate sampling of the heavily polluted site. Terminal One's pollutants are a legacy of industrial use of the site beginning in 1913.
     The contaminants include chlorinated solvents, petroleum and hydrocarbons and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on the Dornan Drive property.
     "You are making a lot of judgments on very little data," he said. Lewis added that in the last 15 years, there have been only two site-wide samplings completed.

Cleve Livingston 

     Developer representative Livingston said that if the RAP - or a modified version of it - is approved by the water quality control board, it's possible that cleanup work could begin in the spring of 2019.
    The public comment period on the proposed remedial action plan will remain open until Oct. 5.
    Comments can be sent in writing to the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board, 1515 Clay St., Suite 1400, Oakland, California or directly via email to the water board's Jeff White.