Public To Have Say in Environmental Clean Up At Seal Beach Navy Base

SEAL BEACH, CA — The Department of the Navy is inviting the Seal Beach community to a public meeting to discuss the cleanup of a former skeet range at the Naval Weapons site in Seal Beach.

According to the Navy, the Proposed Plan was established to restore the land and clean up residual hazardous substances that accumulated from former military activities. The meeting to present the plan to the public will be held at the Mary Wilson Public Library at 6 p.m. on Aug. 15.

The cleanup area, known as IRP Site 74, is 23 acres within the south-central portion of the base. Constructed in the late 1960s, members of the former skeet range typically used 12-gauge shotguns to shoot clay targets.

Lead, antimony and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are the contaminants of concern, officials said, which were the products of the past activity at the site. Stray bullets from a small-arms range also contributed to lead contamination.

"Because of concerns that waterfowl and other wildlife foraging at IRP Site 74 could ingest the shot and soil with residual lead and antimony from the spent shot, the range was closed down in the early 1990s," the Naval Base said in a statement.

Based on results of many environmental assessments, the Navy recommended amphibious excavation to excavate 9.63 acres of soil in the upland area and 2 acres of sediment in the wetland area.

The public was encouraged to review and comment on the four alternatives presented in the Proposed Plan: no action, standard excavation, capping and amphibious excavation. For more specific information on the individual alternatives, visit the Navy's project webpage.

Public comments will be accepted through Aug. 31 via email at navfac_sw_nws_seal_beach_rpm@us.navy.mil or physical mail sent to Ms. Kathryn Robinson Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) Southwest,750 Pacific Highway, 11th Floor, San Diego, California 92132.