Final Community Relations Plan for SFV Basin Site, 1
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SFUND RECORDS CTR 88134295 COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BASIN SITE IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA January 1986 0900365 n o n n COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BASIN SITE IN 1- LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA H January 1986 n Pi WORK ASSIGNMENT NO. 10-9L59.3 I -*- Prepared by: CAMP DRESSER & MCKEE, INC. 00054 0000365 CDM CAMP DRESSER & McKEE INC. Federal Programs Center. 0 environmental tngineers. scientists. ptanntn. A management consultants ' .. ., . _. _ .. _ .. ,... * * 7611 Little River Turnpike. Suite 104 Annandale, Virginia 22003 703642-0544 January 15, 1986 Ms. Patricia Cleary Regional Project Manager U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 215 Fremont St. San Francisco, CA 94105 Mr. Timothy Vendlinski D Regional Superfund Community Relations Coordinator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 215 Fremont St. San Francisco, CA 94105 Project: EPA Contract No.: 68-01-6939 Work Assignment No.: 10-9L59.3 Document No.: 114-CR1-EP-BDFA-2 Subject: Final Community Relations Plan for the San Fernando Valley Basin Site in 0 Los Angeles County, California G Dear Ms. Cleary and Mr. Vendlinski: Camp Dresser & McKee is pleased to submit this final community relations plan for the San Fernando Valley Basin Site in Los Angeles County, California. If you have any questions or comments, please contact Marion Cox or the REM II Community Relations Specialist for the site. Very truly yours, CAMP DRESSER & McKEE INC. __ 7~^7 'avid F. Doyle, P.E. /JonathaJon n G. Curtis, P.E. " ' /Vice President //Vice President Technical Operations Manager /' Finance and Administration Manager 0900365 PERFORMANCE OF REMEDIAL RESPONSE ACTIVITIES AT UNCONTROLLED HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES (REM II) U.S. EPA CONTRACT NO. 68-01-6939 COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN FOR SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BASIN SITE LOS ANGELES COUNTY. CALIFORNIA REM II DOCUMENT NO.: 114-CR1-EP-BDFA-2 Prepared By: ,• /y• . Date: Carol M. Kxertnedy REM II Community Relations Specialist Approved By: Marlon Cox f REM II Community Relations / T Manager Approved Date: im Goodrich 0 II Site Manager Approved By: Date: /,/Oa'/id F. 'DoyTe, (• f-Vice President "I REM II Technical Operations \, Manager Approved By: Date: Jon/ithan G.-Curtis, P.E. Vice President RE%\\*M\ \ IA IA FinancI IIIUIIWw-UIIe andU / .''Administration Manager 0900365 FINAL COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BASIN SITE LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Li United States Environmental Protection Agency Toxics and Waste Management Division Region 9 | i January 1986 G 0 n o n n n Q0GH365 o COMMUNITY RELATIONS PLAN SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BASIN SITE n LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA 0 INTRODUCTION This Community Relations Plan describes EPA's community relations program to be implemented during site investigation and clean-up activities at the San Fernando Valley Basin (SFVB) sites, located in Los Angeles. The purpose of this program is to involve the community and other interested persons in the decision-making process by establishing procedures for the accurate and timely release of information to interested citizens and public officials, and encouraging two-way communication between EPA and the community. This community relations program will require close coordination among local, state, and federal officials. The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) has assumed the lead responsibility for conducting the Remedial Investigation of the ground-water contamination problem in the Basin. Lead responsibility for federal Superfund sites is usually assumed by EPA or a state agency. While the California Department of Health Services (DOHS) is ordinarily involved in Superfund actions, it supports the participation of LADWP in the Remedial Investigation. n 0000365 -2- A Cooperative Agreement, to be signed by EPA and LADWP, defines the role of each agency in the Remedial Investigation. In accordance with the Cooperative Agreement, this plan refers to EPA and LADWP as the agencies responsible for the SFVB Superfund action. EPA's Toxics and Waste Management Division located in San Francisco will oversee LADWP's activities at the site. The community relations program will be conducted jointly by EPA and LADWP during the Superfund process. This Community Relations Plan for SFVB is divided into the following four sections: A. Community Relations Background B. Goals of the Community Relations Program C. Techniques to Reach Community Relations Goals D. Schedule and Staffing Plan The analysis in Sections A through C is based on interviews with local officials, agency representatives, and interested citizens in the Cities of Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, and San Fernando, and the n unincorporated area of La Crescenta. The schedule.presented in Section D provides a proposed sequence of community relations activities at SFVB. These activities coincide with the technical milestones for the site. A staffing plan is included in Section D that highlights the distribution of responsibilities between EPA and LADWP for implementing community relations activities. EPA and DOHS representatives conducted community interviews during March 1985 to gather information for this plan. Agencies contacted include Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG), Metropolitan Water District (MWD), Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (LACDOHS), California Department of Health Services, and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). A full list of individuals contacted to discuss the SFVB site and a list of key officials, media representatives, and 0900365 -3- interest groups is included in Appendix A. This appendix also identifies possible locations for information repositories in Los Angeles County. EPA will keep site fact sheets, key technical documents, and the Community Relations Plan at these repositories as reference materials for community members during the Remedial Investigation and Feasibility Study (RI/FS). Appendix B shows a complete list of acronyms used in this plan. A. COMMUNITY RELATIONS BACKGROUND 1. SITE HISTORY The San Fernando Valley Basin sites (SFVB or "the site") represent four areas in the San Fernando Valley where ground water is contaminated with industrial solvents. The ground-water reservoir in the Basin represents an important source of drinking water for at least three million persons in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. Exact boundaries of the site have not been defined, but water wells in the following cities or communities are affected: Los Angeles, Burbank, Glendale, and the unincorporated community of La Crescenta. Figure 1 shows a vicinity map of the San Fernando Valley and n Figure 2 shows a map of the cities within the San Fernando Valley Basin. An understanding of the way water resources are distributed in the Valley will help to put the site history in its proper context. In general, Los Angeles County and neighboring counties do not have adequate water supplies to meet their needs. Because of water supply constraints, Watermasters have been appointed by the Superior Court of California to allocate water rights among competing users. In 1975, water rights in the San Fernando Valley Basin were redistributed and placed under Watermaster control by a court order. As a result of this redistribution, the cities of Burbank and Glendale lost most of their water rights in the Basin. The lost water represented approximately twenty percent n of water consumed by each city. These cities increased the volume of water -4- OQOO'365 La Crescenta Burbanki IGlendale 10 15 miles Figure 1. VICINITY MAPOF THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY -N- San Gabriel Mountains Santa Susana Mountains La Crescenta City of (Unincorporated San Fernando Los Angeles County) < Ul Simi Hills i Santa Monica Mountains Figure 2. CITY BOUNDARIES WITHIN THE SAN FERNANDO VALLEY BASIN •in -6- purchased from the Metropolitan Water District (MWD) to replace the lost water. The MWD imports surface water from Northern California and the n Colorado River to distribute among six counties in Southern California. MWD water is more expensive than water obtained from the Basin. Because some of the purchased water returns to the Basin aquifer through natural percolation, Burbank and Glendale have water rights in the Basin equal to a percentage of the water that they purchase annually from MWD. In 1979, after ground-water contamination was discovered in the San Gabriel Ground-water basin, DOHS required that all major water purveyors conduct tests to determine if industrial chemicals were present in the ground n water. Results of tests conducted by the Cities of Los Angeles, Glendale, and Burbank, and the Crescenta Valley County Water District (CVCWD) revealed ground-water contamination with concentrations of trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE) and, in lesser concentrations, carbon tetrachloride and chloroform. The primary contaminant, TCE, is an industrial solvent that was found at concentrations that exceed the current California State Action Level of 5 parts per billion (ppb) TCE for drinking water in 42 of the 135 n production and monitoring wells tested. PCE was detected above the California State Action Level of 4 ppb in 17 wells. Action levels are nonenforceable guidance levels established by DOHS. DOHS recommends that water purveyors refrain from supplying customers with water that contains contaminant concentrations above these action levels. The impact on water resources of each Valley community is described below. * The City of Los Angeles has TCE contamination above