THE DAILY KERNEL

Synthetic turf has been recommended for potential use at the Presidio of San Francisco for upgrading the ballfields. Identified advantages are greater playing time and less maintenance. In October 2007, the Urban Watershed Project commented on the use of synthetic turf as proposed in the Tennessee Hollow Environmental Assessment:

While we do understand and support the benefits of using synthetic turf, UWP remains concerned about water quality impacts from this surface downstream of proposed ballfield sites. We would like to see that potential impacts are studied prior to installation and that the synthetic turf presents no danger to downstream receptors.

I’d still like to know whether maintenance of the field will introduce problem chemicals to the environment and restored creeks below the site.  For example, what is applied to clean and disinfect the field?  Fabric softeners?

While potential water quality impacts remain a major concern, what about the human health impacts?  Check out the April 17, 2008 video below from ABC News looking at the potential health impacts from synthetic turf. I certainly support further investigation into synthetic turf prior to its use at the Presidio. 

– Doug Kern

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At the February 25, 2008 San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee hearing the Supervisors offer their concluding remarks including Supervisor Alioto-Pier’s desire to convene a meeting of the various parties to resolve the contamination problems at Mountain Lake.

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At the February 25, 2008 San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee hearing Friends of Mountain Lake Park President, Kate Scanlon speaks about the value of Mountain Lake to the local community. Rich Shrieve, with Friends of Mountain Lake Park since 1980 talks about human impacts to the lake and his frustration with potential legal action among the agencies.

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At the February 25, 2008 San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee hearing Presidio Trust Executive Director Craig Middleton confirms that Mountain Lake does need to be cleaned up and that stormwater does need to be diverted away from the lake.

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At the February 25, 2008 San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee hearing Caltrans spokesperson, Dan McElhaney, answers that Caltrans will share in the responsibility for cleaning up Mountain Lake at the Presidio of San Francisco. But does he commit his agency to any action other than meeting with other parties? Does the stalemate continue? You be the judge.

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At the February 25, 2008 San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee hearing Caltrans spokesperson, Dan McElhaney, discusses how Caltrans wants to be a good neighbor and share in the responsibility for Mountain Lake at the Presidio of San Francisco. He makes a claim (at about 2:40 into the video) that Caltrans’ portion of the runoff into Mountain Lake is only about 5% of the total. Highway 1 outlets drain stormwater from the roadway directly into Mountain Lake. Lake sediment testing shows high levels of lead near these stormdrains.

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At the April 25, 2008 San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee hearing Presidio Restoration Advisory Board community member, Doug Kern, comments on the nature and extent of lead and pesticide contamination in Mountain Lake at the Presidio of San Francisco.  

Part 1 of Doug Kern’s comments appears below.

And Part 2…

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In this segment of the 2-25-08 San Francisco Board of Supervisors hearing on lead and pesticide contamination at Mountain Lake, Supervisor McGoldrick comments on the historical significance of Mountain Lake.

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Back in February, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors Land Use and Economic Development Committee held a hearing on the lead and pesticide contamination at Mountain Lake on the Presidio of San Francisco.  The cleanup is stalemated between responsible agencies including the Presidio Trust, the Army and most notably, Caltrans.  In this segment Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier makes her introductory remarks about the situation and the reason for the hearing.

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The Public Health Service Hospital (PHSH) at the Presidio has seen a lot of use and abuse since it was built in 1875.  The Presidio Trust has been through a long and sometimes difficult process to re-introduce residential use to the abandoned area.  Now that the decision has been made on the reuse of the area, will the site be ready for re-development when the time comes to sign the leases?

The problem is making sure we’ve got a site that is cleaned up properly before redevelopment activities.  We’ve known for many years that the PHSH site has had a major landfill under the west parking area.  Recently, additional investigations have revealed areas of previously unknown landfilling and potential contamination.  New wells have been installed to verify whether any impacts to groundwater have occurred. Soil testing has been conducted and will tell us if the site is contaminated.  These soil and groundwater tests will help us determine the best remedy for the site.

The Presidio Trust, the National Park Service, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, the Regional Water Quality Control Board and community members of the Restoration Advisory Board are examining the findings as they become available.  The entire team is focused on moving the project along for redevelopment purposes.  At the same time, we want to insure that there are no impacts to Lobos Creek, the Presidio’s drinking water supply, and Mountain Lake, the beautiful natural and cultural resource on the Presidio’s southern boundary. 

click on image for detailed view

The time crunch is on.  Unfortunately, it’s late in the game to be doing additional field investigations. Clearly though, the team needs to see the soil and groundwater data before proposing a remedy that is protective of human health and the environment. 

– Doug Kern

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