SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE

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INFORMATION SHEET UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORY, SITE 300 AND THE U. S. DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ALAMEDA AND SAN JOAQUIN COUNTIES The University of California operates a high explosives test facility, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Site 300, in conjunction with nuclear research conducted at LLNL's main facility in Livermore. The site is owned by the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE) . About 11 square miles in area, most of Site 300 lies in San Joaquin County while a small strip extends into Alameda County. The Site 300 climate is arid, receiving about 10 inches of rain in the average year, and the terrain is steep and varied. Past chemical spills and lax waste disposal practices have polluted the shallow ground water beneath several Site 300 building complexes, including the General Services Area (GSA). This Order governs waste discharge into Corral Hollow Creek, a water of the United States, from a ground water treatment system (GWTS) in the eastern GSA. Halogenated volatile organic compounds (VOCs) currently pollute the shallow ground water under the GSA and under private rangeland adjacent to Site 300, threatening to contaminate three drinking water supply wells. Monthly monitoring of the supply wells has not detected VOCs. The GWTS is dedicated to initiating cleanup of the polluted ground water in the vicinity of the supply wells and to halting the spread of VOCs down the Corral Hollow Creek drainage. The GWTS shall air strip the VOCs from the ground water to below detectable concentrations. Corral Hollow Creek flows only during and immediately after winter storm events, and is dry for the rest of the year. The alluvial sands, gravels, and other interbedded deposits directly under the creek offer high to moderate permeabilities to water flow, and thereby shall allow rapid recharge of the underlying ground water aquifers during dry periods. At least two other plumes pollute ground water in other parts of the GSA. Neither the extent of these plumes nor the extent of the eastern GSA plume have been defined, and the Discharger is conducting investigations to define the boundaries. This Order contains time schedules for the Discharger to complete investigations and begin cleanup at the other GSA sites, as well as other contaminated areas at Site 300. These schedules are based on the Discharger' s work plan dated October 1989. In accordance with requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act, the DOE has assessed the potential for the waste discharges to adversely affect the environment. The assessment and proposed mitigation measures must satisfy the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). 8/23/90:MLH:gs