HomeMy WebLinkAboutEQCB Min 2000-07-26
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CITY OF SEAL BEACH
Environmental Quality Control Board
Minutes
July 26,2000
The Environmental Quality Control Board (EQCB) meeting of July 26, 2000 was
called to order by Chairperson Porter at 6:30 p.m. The meeting was held in City
Council Chambers.
Pledge of Allegiance
II Roll Call
Present:
Absent:
Also
Present:
Chairperson Porter, Members Hurley and Voce.
Members Jones and McGuire
Department of Development Services
Mac Cummins, Assistant Planner
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Voce to excuse Member Jones.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
3-0-2
Hurley, Porter, and Voce
None
Jones and McGuire
III Approval of Agenda
MOTION by Voce; SECOND by Hurley to approve the Agenda as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
3-0-2
Hurley, Porter, and Voce
None
Jones and McGuire
IV
Oral Communications
None
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of July 26, 2000
V Consent Calendar
1. RECEIVE AND FILE - Memorandum Re: "Response letter to Notice of
Preparation of Draft EIR - Long Beach Desalination Project - City of Long
Beach." Memo dated July 11, 2000
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Voce to approve the Consent Calendar as presented.
MOTION CARRIED:
A YES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
3-0-2
Hurley, Porter, and Voce
None
Jones and McGuire
VI Public Hearings
None.
VII Scheduled Matters
2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES - June 28,2000
Recommendation: Approve Minutes subject to any corrections determined
appropriate.
Chairperson Porter and Members Hurley and Voce noted several corrections to be
made to the Minutes of June 28, 2000. Mr. Cummins confirmed that all of the
designated corrections would be made.
MOTION by Voce; SECOND by Hurley to approve the Minutes of June 28, 2000 as
amended.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
3-0-2
Hurley, Porter, and Voce
None
Jones and McGuire
3. CITY RESPONSE LETTER Re: Draft Site Evaluation Report, Installation
Restoration Program Sites 4, 5, and 6 - Naval Weapons Station, Seal Beach,
California.
Recommendation: Authorize Chairman to sign response letter with any
changes deemed appropriate by the board.
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of July 26, 2000
Mr. Cummins noted that there has been considerable interaction between the City of
Seal Beach and the Naval Weapons Station regarding this restoration effort. He
described the three sites as follows.
Site 4 The 12-mile perimeter road that goes around the Naval Weapons Station
Site 5 The 4.1-acre area in the southeast corner of Pacific Coast Highway and
Bolsa Avenue
Site 6 The site that is 500 feet northeast of the Site 7, which is located in the
south central portion of the facility.
Mr. Cummins explained that a draft work plan was submitted to the City, and the City
then sent a comment letter to the Naval Weapons Station. He stated that the Navy
reviewed the City's comments and responded to the City. (A copy of this
correspondence is included with the Staff Report.) He said that Item No. 3 is the
response letter from the City for the actual work plan, and also includes comments from
the last letter which the City feels should be addressed.
Mr. Cummins then reviewed the comments in the proposed letter from the City for each
of the sites. He stated that the City was recommending the clean up of Site 4 to
residential standards with the projection that this might be a possible future site for a
residential development. For Site 5 the City recommends creation of a monitoring
system for hazardous levels of ammonia in the groundwater. Vice-Chairperson Hurley
asked where the ammonia comes from. Member Voce stated that explosive materials
do use nitrogen and nitrogen compounds, which can turn to ammonia. Vice-
Chairperson Hurley asked if this could be eliminated if all of the residue from explosives
were removed. Member Voce said that ammonia is already present. Vice-Chairperson
Hurley asked how the ammonia levels could increase. Member Voce stated that the
ammonia can become more concentrated underground and seep into the groundwater.
Mr. Cummins reported that for Site 6, the City is recommending that a long-term
groundwater monitoring program be implemented.
The EQCB Members made recommendations for corrections to the response letter and
Mr. Cummins confirmed that the letter would be modified with any typographical errors
corrected. He noted for the record that the revised copy of the response letter would
appear on the City Council Agenda for the August 14, 2000 meeting.
MOTION by Voce; SECOND by Hurley to authorize the Chairperson to sign the
response letter with any board-approved changes.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
3-0-2
Hurley, Porter, and Voce
None
Jones and McGuire
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of July 26, 2000
4. CITY RESPONSE LETTER Re: Approval of City Comment Letter and
Receive and file "draft technical memorandum - screening aquatic ecological
risk assessment of the perimeter pond adjacent to site 7 station landfill Naval
Weapons Station, Seal Beach.
Recommendation: Authorize Chairman to sign response letter with any
changes deemed appropriate by the board.
MOTION by Hurley; SECOND by Porter to authorize the Chairperson to sign the
response letter with any board-approved changes.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
3-0-2
Hurley, Porter, and Voce
None
Jones and McGuire
5. Memorandum to the City Council Re: Gum Grove Park Concerns.
Recommendation: Continue matter to future meeting.
Mr. Cummins reported that at the last EQCB meeting the Board had requested that
Staff draft a memorandum to the City Council regarding the ongoing concerns about the
wetlands and Gum Grove Park. He stated that approximately two weeks ago Member
Voce had telephoned Mr. Cummins and requested that this item be continued to a
future meeting. Member Voce stated that he had spoken with his Councilperson and
the determination was made to wait until the Hellman Ranch Project wetlands
restoration plan is presented. He said that this could significantly impact how the
restoration of Gum Grove is handled. He noted that the changes being made now were
minor, and because the boundaries might change, any major restoration efforts would
have to wait. He indicated that Governor Davis had canceled the state funds
earmarked for the Hellman Ranch wetlands restoration, and attempts are being made to
reinstate these funds. He reported that the application for the Hellman Ranch Project is
scheduled to go before the Coastal Commission on October 19, 2000. He stated that
he believed a representative from the City of Seal Beach would be attending this
meeting. He reported that he had spoken to Lee Whittenberg regarding the proposed
new entrance to Gum Grove Park from Seal Beach Boulevard and Mr. Whittenberg had
indicated that the City was in opposition to this proposal. He said that the Gum Grove
group is also opposed to this. He stated that they would prefer an entrance similar to
the one to EI Dorado Park (in Long Beach). He reiterated that it was best to delay
acting upon the restoration at this time.
Vice-Chairperson Hurley stated that he would be in agreement with this if the content of
the letter from the Board to the Council were subject to change resulting from the
comments being made by Member Voce. He said the members could study the letter
between now and October. Member Voce stated that part of the question was, "Should
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of July 26, 2000
the City Council designate an official ad hoc task force for the wetlands restoration?"
He reiterated that his Councilperson had recommended waiting to see what needs to be
done after the Hellman Ranch Wetlands Restoration Project is complete.
Vice-Chairperson Hurley asked who would be completing the Hellman Ranch Wetlands
Restoration Plan. Member Voce responded that he projected that funding for the
restoration proposal would have to be set up in some type of conservancy or trust. He
said that the board members for this trust would then conduct the proposal to bring
together the experts to design a wetlands restoration plan. Vice-Chairperson Hurley
asked if Member Voce were confident that completion of the Hellman Ranch Project
would not destroy any portion of the wetlands. Member Voce stated that unless the
Coastal Commission changes its mind about the wetlands portion of the property, there
should be no need for concern.
MOTION by Voce; SECOND by Hurley to continue the Memorandum to City Council
Re: Gum Grove Park to a future meeting.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
3-0-2
Hurley, Porter, and Voce
None
Jones and McGuire
VIII Staff Concerns
None.
IX Board Concerns
Member Voce asked if Staff had any information regarding a wasp considered to be
parasitic to the psyllids affecting the red gum eucalyptus trees. Mr. Cummins stated
that he had not seen any such information, but the Director of Development Services
may have received something. Member Voce stated that he would like to request that
any information be forwarded to the Archaeological Advisory Committee for review. Mr.
Cummins stated that this would be possible.
Member Porter reported that he would be out of town from August 26 through
September 5, 2000. Vice-Chairperson Hurley proposed that if there would be no letters
requiring signatures, that the August 2000 meeting be canceled. Mr. Cummins stated
that the best thing to do would be to keep the meeting as scheduled, and if there were
no items that require the Boards attention, he would call the members to advise that the
meeting for August has been canceled due to lack of business.
Member Porter inquired about an organization of cities united in maintaining the quality
of water along the San Gabriel River and the coastline. Mr. Cummins stated that the
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City of Seal Beach Environmental Quality Control Board
Meeting Minutes of July 26, 2000
then Assistant City Manager had been attending meetings related to this issue, but he
was not sure of the content of the meetings. He stated that he would inquire and report
back to the Board. Member Porter stated that he would like to develop more expertise
in the area of water pollution and steps that can be taken to prevent this. Member Voce
provided the name of a contact for questions related to the San Gabriel River pollution.
X Adjournment
MOTION by Voce; SECOND by Hurley to adjourn to the scheduled August 2000
meeting date.
MOTION CARRIED:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSENT:
3-0-2
Hurley, Porter, and Voce
None
Jones and McGuire
Chairperson Porter adjourned the meeting at 7:25 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
~~
Carmen Alvarez, Executive Secretary
Department of Development Services
The Board on October 25, 2000 approved the Minutes of the Environmental Quality
Control Board of Wednesday, July 26, 2000. ~ .
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