City leaders travel to Washinton D.C. to discuss Runkle Canyon with Feinstein
By Kyle Jorrey kjorrey@theacorn.com

Glen Becerra 'The city won't take no for an answer.'

On their recent trip to the nation's Capitol for the annual National League of Cities conference, City Council members Glen Becerra and Steve Sojka took the opportunity to lobby California state Sen. Diane Feinstein's environmental staff for help in addressing the issue of Runkle Canyon.

Becerra and Sojka, along with the rest of the City Council, want the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) to review data and reports related to the controversial 1,500-acre piece of property in the southern Simi hills so they can assure concerned residents there is no health risk related to its grading or development.

Home builders KB and Lennar have approval from the city to build 461 upscale residences on the site, set to be named Runkle Ranch.

The property came under intense scrutiny last fall just before it was set to be graded, when concerns related to contaminated runoff from the nearby Santa Susana Field Laboratory were raised.

"We wanted to make sure that they knew what our concerns were and what we're trying to accomplish- and see how they could be helpful in meeting those desires," Becerra said of the meeting with Feinstein's staff.

In October, Assistant City Manager Laura Behjan sent a request via email to USEPA environmental scientist John Beach asking the agency to conduct an independent review into the "potential or actual presence of strontium-90 in Runkle Canyon."

Strontium-90 is a radioactive isotope that has been linked to bone cancer, cancer of the soft tissue near the bone and leukemia. It was first detected slightly above natural levels on the Runkle Ranch property in 1999 by Phoenixbased QST Environmental, who was hired by previous Runkle Canyon developer Greenpark LLC.

Behjan's request was denied.

"The review and conclusions you are requesting require extensive time and resource commitments," Beach wrote in a response letter to the city.

"USEPA's role is limited because we do not have an oversight or regulatory role at SSFL. Resources that once supported SSFL activities have since been redirected to matters where we do have direct authority," the letter continued.

Both Becerra and Sojka sought help in convincing USEPA to change its mind when they met with Feinstein's staff on March 13.

"The city doesn't take no for an answer," both Becerra and Sojka said.

At that meeting, which was not attended by Feinstein, the city was given the opportunity to state its case as to why it thinks USEPA has a responsibility to get involved in reviewing data related to Runkle Canyon, Becerra said. City Manager Mike Sedell and Assistant City Manager Dan Paranick attended that meeting along with the two council members.

"(The EPA) said it doesn't want to get involved because it's a Department of Energy facility at Santa Susana Field Laboratory- and to an extent I understand that- but Runkle Canyon is not," Becerra said. "It's a private piece of land owned by a private property owner for residential use and open space use, and last time I checked EPA got involved in private pieces of land that were to be developed for housing, commercial or just maintained for open space.

"Even though the pollution that they're saying is there probably came from Rocketdyne, the reality is it isn't Rocketdyne," the council member continued. "I feel the EPA really has an obligation to get involved in this to resolve whether this (project) is safe or not."

The response from Feinstein's staff was positive, Sojka said.

"They promised us they would work through channels to help us achieve it," he said.

Speaking on the issue as a whole, Becerra reiterated his belief that the development of Runkle Ranch is not a threat to Simi residents, but said the city was doing the right thing by asking for a closer look.

"I'm not an alarmist. I believe the site is safe. But that being said, I'm more than happy to go through a deeper look to make sure of that," Becerra said. "When residents raise a concern, we want to address it. We want the community to feel and be safe. That is No. 1 for us."

Nevertheless, Becerra said, it's vital that the city manage the issue responsibly so as to not risk devaluing the homes currently located near Runkle Canyon.

"If something is wrong up there, then absolutely we're going to get to the bottom of it, but if it turns out something is not wrong, then I don't want to see a complete devaluation of homes just because a few neighbors created mass hysteria," Becerra said. "That's why it's so important we manage this responsibly."