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TRACY TIRE FIRE SUPPRESSION PROJECT (VERSION 2) Introduction On August 7, 1998, the tires being illegally stored at the Royster Tire Site were ignited. It was estimated at the time that there were 7 million tires present when the tire fire started. Based on the conditions at this site, the plan was to let the tire fire burn itself out and when the fire was out, to begin site characterization and remediation efforts. Presently, the tire fire continues to smolder, delaying commencement of site characterization and remediation activities. As we have seen with other tire fires, the environmental impacts from the residual contamination that remains after the fire is extinguished may be significant; therefore, initiating site characterization and the remedial actions at the Royster Site is imperative. With the near passage of SB 876 and the expanding role of the Board in remediating illegal waste tire facilities, the remediation of the Royster Tire Fire Site in Tracy should be considered a high priority; however, with the active fires along the northern edge of the facility, no site assessment or remediation can begin. In order to start the removal of the ash and oil stained soil from the site all active fire areas must be suppressed. To facilitate the removal, a suppression project should be started and completed within the next two months. Meteorologically speaking, the months of September and October would be optimal suppression times due to the low probability of inversion layers and thermal mixing in the San Joaquin Valley Air Basin. The proposed project would take approximately 21 days at a projected cost of$90,000 for environmental assessment and sampling and$250,000 for suppression, totaling$340,000. If the Board decides to pursue this suppression project, all efforts must be made to start the project by the end of September. To illustrate the proposed tasks involved with the suppression project the following list is provided. Week One Obtain site access Perform a site visit Develop a sampling strategy for the smoke plume Perform air and soil sampling Determine appropriate health and safety response level Develop health and safety, suppression and work plans Develop a community brief Propose a work schedule and cost estimate Conduct initial site survey and site investigation Perform temperature surveys Establish site security Develop a water supply and select suppression foam Provide normal and emergency site utilities and facilities