Bill would heighten standards for field lab cleanup
Proposed legislation discussed at gathering of elected officials
By Kyle Jorrey kjorrey@theacorn.com

At a briefing held at the Agoura Hills/Calabasas Community Center last Thursday, state Sen. Sheila Kuehl (D-Santa Monica) spoke in favor of SB 990, legislation she introduced in February that would designate the Santa Susana Field Laboratory a "Superfund" site. The label would require that the area be cleaned to the highest set of standards of the United States Environmental Protection Agency before it could be sold for use as residential property.

In attendance at the meeting were several Los Angeles and Ventura county area public officials representing the cities of Los Angeles, Calabasas, Agoura Hills and Hidden Hills- but none from Simi Valley.

According to assistant city manager Laura Behjan, Simi officials were never alerted by Kuehl's staff about the event, which included a presentation offering a complete history of the 2,850-acre site and its chemical and radioactive contamination.

"As far as I've been able to determine, we have nothing here that indicates we received any kind of invitation and that's too bad because we would have been interested in attending," Behjan said. "We're interested in anything related to the field lab."

Laura Plotkin, a member of Kuehl's staff who helped organize the event, said she wasn't sure if the city was sent an invitation or not.

According to Plotkin, the reason behind the briefing was the recent U.S. Department of Energy announcement that it was preparing to start the cleanup of the final two radioactive contaminated buildings at SSFL. Once completed, the land would be turned over to its owner, Boeing Co.

At the briefing, Kuehl and Dan Hirsch, co-chairman of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory Study Group and a longtime proponent of an EPA-level cleanup of the site, told audience members that the DOE cleanup was insufficient to protect possible future residents of the property from exposure to contaminants.

"It would seem that the same folks who assured us that there is no such thing as global warming are being channeled by the EPA," Kuehl said. "We already have elevated cancer rates in those parts of L.A. and Ventura County that are close to this toxic site. It would be unconscionable to allow Boeing to dump it into the hands of developers without properly cleaning it up."

After the meeting, Hirsch praised the turnout, calling it "remarkable."

"It is an indication of tremendous concern among elected officials about what is going on up there," Hirsch said. "The Department of Energy and Boeing have decided to walk away from most of the radiological contamination without cleaning it up."

With the transfer of ownership expected sometime within the next fiscal year, Hirsch warned control over the property would soon be out of government hands.

"We're at a crisis," Hirsch told The Acorn on Tuesday. "(Boeing and the DOE) are trying to do the transfer in the next year so these legislators are incapable of fixing the problem. Once the land has transferred from federal control back to Boeing, the government power to remedy the situation is dramatically lessened. The door will essentially be shut."

Hirsch said it's up to local officials to speak up and get behind Kuehl's bill.

"The trick is, will Ventura County speak out, will Simi Valley speak out?" Hirsch said.

Councilmember Glen Becerra defended the city's actions related to concerns over the field lab and reprimanded the state senator's office for not extending the city an invitation to the briefing.

"We're the major stockholders in this deal, not the city of Agoura Hills, not Calabasas . . . it's unconscionable that the city of Simi and its residents would not be included in this type of discussion," Becerra said. "We've gone to every meeting on this topic we've ever been invited to."

A meeting of the interagency work group overseeing the cleanup will be held Thursday from 6:30 to 10 p.m. at the Simi Valley Cultural Arts Center. Citizens are invited to attend. Officials with Boeing could not be reached for comment.

Checkout SB 990 in its entirety by visiting www.sen.ca.gov/