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The Site was operated by Mr. Silas Fred Royster as the Royster Tire Disposal Facility, an unpermitted waste tire facility, for an undocumented period of time.An estimated 7,000,000 tires were illegally stored at the Site in conditions ranging from orderly piles of bundled tires to large piles of unbundled tires and tire shreds. The facility also stored drums of used oil filters, old vehicles, trailers, and other miscellaneous debris. On August 7, 1998, a grass fire started at the Site. The grass fire spread and ignited the tires. Local fire and police, the San Joaquin County Public Health Services (PHS), California Environmental Protection Agency(Cal-EPA), DTSC, California Air Resources Board (CARB), and the CIWMB (collectively- the"unified command")worked together to conduct emergency response activities from the time the fire was discovered through August 10, 1998. The unified command elected to allow the tire fire to burn out over time. County, state, and federal agencies continued to monitor the fire,which steadily diminished with the exception of three burn areas, which continued to burn for over 2 years. The CIWMB implemented a fire suppression plan in October 2000. The CIWMB, in coordination with the Tracy Fire Department, PHS, San Joaquin Valley Air Quality Management District(SJVAQMD), and CARB, supervised a contractor extinguish remaining areas of fire with foam and water. The U.S. EPA Emergency Response Section, under the authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act(CERCLA)and Superfund Amendment and Reauthorization Act (SARA), directed a preliminary remedial investigation/feasibility study (RI/FS) of the Site. Soil and groundwater samples were collected from October 15 through December 13, 2001. The purpose of the preliminary RI/FS was to determine the impact on soil and groundwater quality at the Site due to the tire fire. Additionally, analytical data was gathered to determine the extent of contamination at the Site and to characterize waste for removal by the CIWMB. Removal actions at the Site to date include activities conducted under the authority of the CIWMB Notice of Exemption (NOE) in accordance with Title 14, California Code of Regulations, Section 15308. The NOE covers the removal of abandoned vehicles, metal debris, scorched equipment, approximately 50,000 used motor oil filters, several used oil drums, and other activities associated with site preparation (e.g. installation of production well for dust control). The objective of the pre-construction removal activities described above was to clear the project site of large debris and create sufficiently large staging areas for site management, trucks, decontamination areas, and installation of electrical and telephone communications equipment/lines. SCI performed the pre-construction removal activities during March and April 2003 under the supervision of the CIWMB with the authority provided by the NOE. Site Vicinity: The Site is surrounded by properties that currently involve or have involved commercial surface mining activities. An abandoned Union Pacific Railroad spur marks the northern site boundary. Beyond the railroad spur is property owned by Teichert Land Company. The eastern site boundary is marked by the adjacent upper main section of the Delta Mendota Canal, beyond the canal is land owned by Teichert Land Company. In addition, the western site boundary is marked by adjacent Teichert Land Company property, and the southern site boundary runs approximately east-west and is marked by adjacent properties under the ownership of Lone Star Aggregates and Joan Rhodes. Conservation measures will be implemented as part of the proposed project to avoid impacts to special status animal species having the potential to occur in the project area. 3