New TOSC Community

NAS Community Reuse Plan (Diagram from Siefel Consulting website)

TOSC has recently renewed its relationship with a community in Alameda California located on the former Naval Air Station (NAS) Alameda , commonly referred to as Alameda Point, which was closed as an active military installation in 1997. The Navy has identified 31 sites at Alameda Point requiring investigation and cleanup under CERCLA.

In accordance with the Community Reuse Plan for the NAS, the city of Alameda entered into an agreement with The Alameda Point Collaborative (APC) , a group of not-for-profit housing developers and service providers. The agreement provides long-term leases for 200 units of transitional and permanent housing for formerly homeless families. Since 1999 the APC has helped create a community that is home to over 500 residents by using former base housing units.

Preparation for Backfilling with Clean Fill Material and Topsoil around living units (US Navy photo)

TOSC was originally contacted by the APC in January 2003 after being referred by the EPA Community Involvement Coordinator for that area. The issue at that time was the discovery of PAHs in soils around some of the living quarters and lead paint on some structures left over from base operations. The Navy was planning a cleanup of the soils and removal of the structures raising concerns in the community and the APC about potential exposures during the cleanup. Cleanup proceeded very quickly and completed by May 2003 with little TOSC involvement. However, in October TOSC was asked by the Navy project manager who managed the cleanup to participate in a community open house designed to address residents' concerns over possible exposures that may have occurred during the cleanup. The open house was also attended by public health and risk assessment professionals from the EPA and other agencies.

In a previous newsletter we wrote about a new Western Region TOSC policy of sending end-of-year summary letters to active communities that are designed to improve our effectiveness. The purpose of these letters is to solicit input from communities and make any necessary adjustments in the assistance we provide. After receiving our letter, a representative from the APC contacted TOSC seeking information about further assistance to the APC and to a Residents Council. The Residents Council was recently formed to address issues in the community including those dealing with environmental contamination and cleanup projects occurring at the base.

Earlier this month, TOSC visited the community to make a presentation to the APC staff and several residents and to answer questions about TOSC and how we could assist them. APC gave TOSC the first task of providing comments on a public health assessment of Alameda Point recently completed by the ATSDR in February. Comments are due by March 31 st .

A representative from the Residents Council invited TOSC to their next meeting to be held April 12 th. At that meeting TOSC will present a summary of the information in the ATSDR health assessment and become more familiar with residents and their concerns. A letter of agreement outlining future TOSC activities and assistance will also be formulated. Future TOSC activities identified at the first meeting include educational workshops on various environmental issues, further document review and serving as a resource for APC and community technical inquiries.

For more information contact Jerry Orlando by e-mail or at (541) 737-5736.