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Board of Supervisors authorizes grant application for Fallbrook Burnsite cleanup

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors authorized the county’s Department of Public Works to apply for a state grant to clean up several landfills and burn sites, including the Fallbrook Burnsite.

The supervisors’ 5-0 vote also authorizes acceptance of the California Integrated Waste Management Board grants if they are offered to the county. Although four burn sites were specifically identified in the grant, the Department of Public Works was also authorized to apply for additional grants if future analysis deems that an application is suitable.

The California Integrated Waste Management Board administers the Solid Waste Disposal and Co-disposal Site Cleanup Program which enables local governments to receive matching grants of up to $750,000 per site project for the remediation of old landfills or burn sites. The grants are intended to help fund cleanup where remediation is needed to protect public health and safety or the environment.

The Department of Public Works is responsible for maintaining the county’s inactive landfills and burnsites. That responsibility includes - but is not limited to - completion of studies to determine whether the presence of lead and other metals or chemical compounds poses a risk to public health and safety or the environment. The county is also responsible for development and implementation of remediation actions to minimize those impacts. The remediation actions may include improvements to existing landfill gas and groundwater systems, import and placement of additional cover material, securing of sites with fencing, and removal or consolidation of the wastes. DPW works with the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the landfill or burn site’s local enforcement agency, and the Department of Toxic Substances Control to characterize waste at former burn sites and landfills and identify appropriate remediation efforts.

Remediation work has currently been deemed necessary for four sites: the Fallbrook Burnsite, the Alpine Burnsite, and the Jacumba I and II burn sites. The Fallbrook Burnsite on Stone Post Way consists of three separate parcels and includes approximately 8,000 cubic yards of burn ash which contains heavy metals, including lead.

The mitigation project for the Fallbrook Burnsite will consolidate the burn ash material and construct an engineered cap over the waste. The total cost is estimated at $3 million, so the grant funding would cover approximately a quarter of the cost. The county plans to budget the remediation for Fiscal Year 2008-09, and the project has an estimated fall 2008 start.

If the California Integrated Waste Management Board approves any of the grant applications, county staff will prepare specific remediation plans for that site and will complete the appropriate California Environmental Quality Act review during the preparation. The environmental review of the specific site project plan will be completed before Board of Supervisors approval to advertise and award contracts for the work is requested.

Department of Public Works staff will continue to analyze the remaining landfills and burn sites and will apply for grants when feasible. The resolution authorizing the application and acceptance for grants has a June 30, 2012, expiration date.

 

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