SITE INFORMATION AND CORRESPONDENCE_1988-1991

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DEPARTMENT OF TIIE ARMY SHARPE ARMY DEPOT �Tlr • . LATHROP. CALIFORNIA 95331REPLY TO f ATTENTION of November 21 , 1989 a�0' Environmental Program Office NOV 27 1989 Ms. Tracy Billington .J1A(1(JIV COUI\i j y Department of Health Services iIANNINC, Toxic Substances Control Division Region I 10151 Croydon Way Sacramento, California 95827-2106 Dear Ms. Billington: It is our understanding that plans for a residential development just west of Sharpe Army Depot (SHAD) are being reviewed by your department. A report entitled "Environmental Impact Report, Verner-Lathrop Area, General Plan Amendment, Country Squire", dated July 1989, has been obtained by SHAD. Apparently the report discusses the same development being reviewed by you department. One objective of this letter is to inform your department of what impacts the proposed development may have on the environmental restoration efforts underway at SHAD. Another objective is to request that your department assert whatever influence you feel is appropriate to change the current development plans. If approved as currently planned, the Country Squires development will adversely affect the Army' s ability to monitor and, if found to be necessary, remediate groundwater contamination in that area. As shown in enclosure 1, groundwater under most of the proposed development site is contaminated with trichloroethylene. According to the July 1989 report, 949 single family units will be constructed on 191 .4 acres of the site. Existing monitoring wells and proposed new wells are located in the development area. lldintaining existing wells and installing new wells in a high density housing development will be difficult and may be impossible. As evidenced by the recent request by Valley Haven to remove well 520, owners of Country -Squire will ''undoubtedly demand the removal of wells on their property. It is not unreasonable to expect that, at the end of the Remedial Investigation, process, remediation of groundwater under the development site may be recommended Construction and operation of a treatment system will be virtually impossible in the proposed development. Open spaces for extraction wells in the high density housing area will be hard to find. Connecting the extraction wells to a treatment system (probably located on SHAD property) will require running lines through scores of individual properties. Even if Space for the extraction wells could be found and leases with all the property owners could be obtained, the resultant costs to the tax payers would be high. Costs may escalate beyond the level that can be funded by SHAD, and could result in elimination of groundwater treatment as nonviable during the Feasibility Study.