The Seal Beach ARCO gas station decontamination project is supposed to begin in May.
Problem: the California Coastal Commission hasn’t approved the required permit. In fact, the project hasn’t been placed on the Coastal Commission agenda.
On Friday, Feb. 11, the Orange County Health Care Agency sent the state agency a letter asking commission staff to expedite the permit to implement the corrective action plan for the site.
The CAP calls for excavation of the contaminated soil under the gas station.
The underground storage tanks at the Bridgeport neighborhood gas station have leaked at least twice since the 1980s. Gasoline vapors were detected in the soil under the homes nearest the Pacific Coast Highway gas station in 2009.
Four families were forced to temporarily move out of their homes during the 2009 holiday season. Only 25 homes were actually located in the contamination or “study” zone, but the property values of all Bridgeport homes could be affected by their location near a toxic site.
“It is important that ARCO implement the CAP as soon as possible to protect the community’s health and safety,” wrote Richard Sanchez of the county health agency.
“Site remediation must occur during the dry season to avoid problems with localized flooding that occasionally occurs in the site area,” Sanchez wrote.
The county isn’t the only organization calling on the Coastal Commission to act now. The Bridgeport Technical Advisory Committee, a group of residents who happen to work in the environmental remediation field, has also sent a letter asking the commission to act.
Mario Iacoboni, a TAC member who has lived in Bridgeport since 1996 or 1997, said the TAC letter was delivered on Feb. 11. The letter asked the Coastal Commission to place the item on the state agency’s March agenda.
Iacoboni said if the project gets on the March agenda, work could begin in May as called for in ARCO’s corrective action plan
“We have to get this done or we’re waiting a year,” Iacoboni told the Sun.
He said he and the other TAC members were frustrated that they had not been able to meet with Coastal Commission staff.
“This is an environmental issue,” Iacoboni said.
He said Bridgeport residents have begun circulating a petition asking the Coastal Commission to approve the permits for the ARCO project.
Seal Beach City Engineer Michael Ho said the city would also draft a letter to the commission requesting expedited review of the project.
Approximately 50 Seal Beach residents attended a Tuesday, Feb. 8 meeting to update the public on the status of the project.
“It’s all dependent upon the Coastal Commission’s review,” he said.
