In response to Katherine Kelly’s statement, "I hope this doesn’t turn into a trend."  I have an equally frustrating experience to report.  After discovering our city continues to harbor the toxic waste from McNamara and Peepe Corporation’s 40 acre sawmill that operated from the mid 1940’s to December 31, 1981.  The two major polluters at the site were a pond that soaked the lumber to prevent sap stain and conveyor belt, known as the green chain, that moved cut or planed lumber through a booth that continuously showered the cut lumber.  An upgrade to the green chain was the dip tank.  The dip tank was filled with 500 gallons of water and Chapman P-180 (contains methanol and chlorinated phenolics including pentachlorophenol and tetrachlorophenol.) 

     The California Regional Water Quality Control Board has been testiing the area over the years and the last test results I could find was April of 2003.  Analytical results of soil samples "revealed the presence of leachable concentrations of PCP and dioxin TEQ. 2003 sampling results confirm actual and potential ongoing discharges of PCP and Dioxin from impacted site soil to groundwater and surface water.  Pentachlorophenol is a carcinogenic substance."

     I was delighted that the city council and the county supervisors were having a joint meeting.  They surely won’t be able to tell me I’m at the wrong meeting this time.  I asked if they knew about the McNamara and Peepe polluters.  They all said, "Yes."

I have worked with many cancer patients over the years and after reading this report it is obvious to me that we MUST CLEAN THIS PLACE UP.

     If we are to enjoy good health and be able to enjoy our healthy friends and famiy instead of going to their funerals.  If we want to.  I was wondering, How do we get rid of this cancer causing toxic waste dump?

     Next question:  Where are we at in the clean-up procedure?  Answer:  It doesn’t belong to the City. If I understood correctly, somebody from the State is responsible for it.

     Someone from the joint meeting said "There were funds for cleaning it up."

     Someone else said, "That was spent ages ago.

     Another representative, "Was it cleaned up?"

     Response, "NO."

     I then submitted 4 pages of addresses that had Underground Storage Tanks and Leaking Underground Storage Tanks (LUST) within  two miles of the new to be expanded Wal-Mart. I believe this is another project being done under the umbrella of No Negative Declaraton.

     Representative, "I know some of these were cleaned up.  Probably most of them."

      Well, that was it!  Three days researching this.  Narrowing my questions down to three questions in three minutes (Public comment is only allowed three minutes).

     1.  Do you know about this?

     2.  Has it been cleaned up?

     3.  What morre is there to do?

     And nothing!  That’s not completely true.  The joint session voted to spend $150,000 that’s a debit from the City and a credit from the Harbor. Put another way: If I understood them correctly, first the City or County is going to incur the expense of paying a consultant to tell them how much money they will need to do whatever it is Jim Barnts (engineer for the city and the county and the Director of Public Works for the City) wants them to do. So, we will give them a free consultation?   Bottom line, nothing to be spent out of the City’s budget.  But my question is where is the Harbor going to get the money? 

     I then offered the reps the California Regional Water Quality Control Board’s "In the Matter of Crescent City Harbor District, complint No. R1-211-0077 for Administrative Civil Liability, meeting on Septembr 29 2011 in Santa Rosa, Calif." The complaint proposes to assess $177,000 in mandatory minimum penalties for the violations described herein."  That appears to be the minimum.  Page 2 gets worse! 

     So, Ms. Kelly, my concerns seemed to fall on deaf ears once again.  And our representatives, as usual, did it their way.  The $300,000 they contracted to pay Hemmingsen Construction to destroy the Tsunami Landing plus the $60,000 Mr. Barnts requested, as an afterthought, to make sure there will not be a drainage problem and for potential legal fees… to be paid to Attorney Bob Black.  AMAZING!  The County is broke.  The City is broke, and the Harbor is very broke. Sounds to me like you and I just loaned them $150,000.  I’m broke too.  How did we do that?

     Tsunami Landing does not cause cancer.  Toxic waste dumps do cause cancer.  Am I the only person in this county who is concerned about this?  I have not heard any other voices, but I hope someone out there is wondering, like I am, because we’re not all cancer ridden or dead yet.