THE DAILY KERNEL

On November 17, 2008 the Presidio Trust will release a decision document to remediate Landfills 8 and 10 on the Presidio of San Francisco. The Trust does not propose to remove either of these landfills, but to contain the waste in place.

We’ve talked about the historic importance of Landfill 8 previously, noting that the landfill covers an historic Merchant Marine cemetery with 30,000 cubic yards of contaminated waste. Read this paper by the Trust on the cemetery’s history.

The Trust will propose to cover the landfill and buried cemetery with an additional 3 to 5 feet of sand at a cost of about $1,000,000. The landfill waste materials contain pesticides, PAHs, and metals such as lead, cadmium and zinc.

For a national park the more appropriate remedy is to remove the waste material as has been done at many other Presidio sites. The cost will be more expensive, about $5,000,000, but the solution will be permanent and we will not burden future generations with contamination in the park.

At Landfill 10, the site will remain a parking lot for the Public Health Service Hospital. The slope of the landfill to the west will be exposed waste material and will be covered only with vegetation. While the contaminant levels appear to be low in the landfill material, there is a chance that contamination will be exposed when the slope is cut back for seismic stability purposes.

A public comment period is scheduled to begin on November 17 and run through December 22, 2008. I recommend that interested members of the public request the decision documents from the Presidio Trust when they are released on November 17. If you need additional time to review the materials request a time extension from the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the Presidio Trust. According to a Presidio electronic newsletter article released on Tuesday November 4, 2008:

• The documents will be available in the Presidio Trust Library, 34 Graham Street. 
• They will also be available on the website. 
• Send written comments to: Bob Boggs, DTSC, 700 Heinz Avenue, Suite 200, Berkeley, CA 94710-2721 (email: rboggs@dtsc.ca.gov); 
• OR Eileen Fanelli, Presidio Trust, P.O. Box 29052, 34 Graham Street, San Francisco, CA  94129. 
• A public meeting on Draft Remedial Action Plan will be held on Tuesday, December 9, (meeting moved up, due to conflict with Main Post meeting on December 9th) Tuesday, December 2nd, 6 pm, Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Avenue. If you have questions, call (415) 561-5418.

More on the subject of Landfills 8 and 10 in the coming days.

–Doug Kern

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Election Day!

I voted last week by mail-in ballot and phoned the department of elections

today. Yes, my vote has been counted. 

Fingers are crossed and will follow the results closely all day.

–Doug Kern

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The Presidio Trust has announced the time and place of their next public board meeting to review the Main Post DSEIS.

Presidio Trust Public Board of Directors Meeting
Thursday, November 13, 6:30 pm
St. Mary’s Conference Center, 1111 Gough Street, San Francisco

St. Mary’s is at the corner of Geary and Gough streets.

–Doug Kern

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The Main Post Update and Draft SEIS comment period have been extended until November 17, 2008.  The Presidio Trust has also postponed the date of the Board of Directors meeting to November 13, 2008.  The meeting will be held at 6:30 pm at a location yet to be determined.

–Doug Kern

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This September 9th article from the Los Angeles Times explores the ongoing Main Post controversy. (h/t to TDK Reader KW)

The Fishers have made it clear that they want their building to sit on the promontory at the top of the parade ground, and those familiar with the negotiations said there is a chance that if the museum’s site, size and design are not approved, the Fishers would retract their offer.

Wow. 

Just the site, size and design? Is that all?

“Their” building?

–Doug Kern

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This online August 22, 2008 article in Preservation Magazine, describes the ongoing controversy surrounding the Contemporary Art Museum at the Presidio (CAMP) and reports this news:

Kicking it Up a Notch

In a rare move, this week the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation requested guidance from the National Park Service in the form of a “Section 213 report.” That document, due in October, will assist the council in its review of the proposed museum by recommending ways to ”avoid, minimize, and mitigate” harm to the Presidio National Historic Landmark District. The council’s sparingly used request is a direct result of a July 8 letter from National Trust President Richard Moe, who explained the need for an objective review of the proposal’s impact on the park.

In this previous post, I took a look at the Section 106 process from the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA). Now, the rarely invoked NHPA Section 213 is put into action. What is Section 213 and what does it mean for the Presidio Section 106 process?

Section 213 [16 U.S.C. 470u].

To assist the Council in discharging its responsibilities under this subchapter, the Secretary at the request of the Chairman, shall provide a report to the Council detailing the significance of any historic property, describing the effects of any proposed undertaking on the affected property, and recommending measures to avoid, minimize, or mitigate adverse effects.

This is an important request by the Executive Director of the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP) to the Director of the National Park Service. As noted in the article and the section language these reports seek to make recommendations about avoiding, minimizing, or mitigating adverse effects to the National Historic Landmark District (NHDL). This report will aid the ACHP in the Section 106 consultation process.

This interesting Section 213 report for the proposed Highwood Generating Station on the Portage Route of the Lewis and Clark Expedition near Great Falls, Montana, determined that proposed mitigations were not effective or adequate and went on to say that the proposed construction was immitigable unless the project was relocated. That project has received widespread negative public reaction and has been tied up since the Final EIS was issued in January 2007.

–Doug Kern

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Just returned to the computer tonight after a day of meetings to see this article on Tennessee Hollow restoration project in today’s Chronicle. Peter Fimrite, staff writer at the Chronicle, interviews Allison Stone of the Presidio Trust. If you’re not familiar with where the Tennessee Hollow watershed or El Polin Springs are located in the Presidio, here’s a map, courtesy of the Presidio Trust.

Lots of very interesting thoughts in the comments section. Many wondered why the water at El Polin Springs was not potable. While lots of answers were given, the principle reason is that the spring is not protected at the source from contamination by mammals, wild and domestic. The spring is fairly low flow, easily contaminated by coliform bacteria and therefore, not good to drink.

Great to see this project receiving some good press and congratulations to Allison for the interview.

–Doug Kern

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Back in May I noted this ABC News report on the dangers of artificial turf. Today’s LA Times reports that California Attorney General Jerry Brown alleges in a lawsuit against top makers of green plastic playing fields that:

…three makers of artificial turf deliberately failed to disclose that their products contain lead.

It turns out that lead is used to give the green color to artificial turf. According to the article:

lead,…,has been identified by state agencies as a chemical that can cause cancer, damage to male and female reproductive systems, and birth defects in developing fetuses.

The article does indicate that excessive lead was not found in all of the artificial turf samples from the three companies.

However, it was noted that:

Although artificial turf presents little or no danger when it is new, lead levels rise to potentially harmful levels as it gets older, said Deputy Atty. Gen. Dennis A. Ragen, the state’s lead attorney on the lawsuit.

The lead in artificial turf is a serious issue as the field ages and the dust from the material comes off on children’s hands, which they then put in their mouths. Lead contaminated dust could wash off the field and into the environment. Any installation of artificial turf at the Presidio should be carefully considered in the light of this information.

–Doug Kern

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According to the Presidio Trust website the comment period for the Main Post SEIS has been extended to October 20, 2008. This is approximately a 30-day extension.

There will be a Board of Directors meeting on Tuesday, October 14, 2008 at 6:30 pm at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater, 3301 Lyon Street.

In addition, the Trust will hold workshops on the Main Post. According to the website:

The workshops will also provide a forum to discuss further the kinds of activities that the public would like to see in the Main Post in the future.

The workshops will be held:

• Thursday, September 25, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Avenue
• Sunday, September 28, 2 to 4 pm, Presidio Officers’ Club, 50 Moraga Avenue
• Thursday, October 2, 6:30 to 8:30 pm, Golden Gate Club, 135 Fisher Loop

–Doug Kern

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Guided Project Tours at El Polin Springs in the Presidio’s Tennessee Hollow Watershed 

• Saturday, September 6, 10:30 am–Noon
• Saturday, September 13, 10:30 am–Noon
• Meet at the picnic tables at El Polin Springs, off MacArthur Avenue, in the Presidio. RSVP/Directions (415) 561-5357.
• Sponsored by the Presidio Trust 

Restoration of the Tennessee Hollow watershed is now continuing at El Polin Springs, a place remarkable for nature and wildlife as well as for its extraordinary human history.

Beginning in September 2008, habitat restoration will begin to return ecological richness to the wetland area surrounding the springs. As a first phase, 60 eucalyptus, cypress, and pine trees will be removed from around El Polin Loop. Habitat will then be restored with plants and trees grown in the Presidio Nursery, including coast live oak and California buckeye, as well as wax myrtle, toyon, willows, and native grasses.

Later, a number of improvements will showcase the history of the area and welcome visitors. El Polin Loop will be transformed into a boardwalk and trail with a new picnic area, public restrooms, and benches. The stone channels and well will be restored, and interpretive gardens and other features will share the long history at the springs.

For complete project details, visit the Presidio Trust website on the Tennessee Hollow Project.

Artist’s conceptual rendering of boardwalk and restored habitat around El Polin Springs. Illustration by Art Zendarski.

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