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Home My WebLink AboutMINUTES - 05211996 - C83 C . 83 & C . 84 THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA Adopted this Order on May 21, 1996, by the following vote: AYES: Supervisors Rogers, Bishop, DeSaulnier, Torlakson and Smith NOES: None ABSENT: None ABSTAIN: None UBJECT: Correspondence C. 83 LETTER dated May 1, 1996, from Jon Mikels, Supervisor, Second District, County of San Bernardino, San Bernardino County Government Center, 385 North Arrowhead Avenue, Fifth Floor, San Bernardino, CA 92415, requesting notice of any proposed action by Contra Costa County relating to the Ward Valley low-level radioactive waste facility in San Bernardino County. ****REFERRED TO DIRECTOR, GROWTH MANAGEMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AGENCY, AND HEALTH SERVICES DIRECTOR C. 84 LETTER dated May 7, 1996, from Henry L. Clarke, General Manager, Local 1, Contra Costa County Employees Association, P.O. Box 222, Martinez, CA 94553, transmitting a petition signed by employees in the Head Start Program opposed to having another delegate agency take over the County Head Start Program in East County. ""REFERRED TO COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT DIRECTOR IT IS BY THE BOARD ORDERED that the recommendations as noted (****) are approved. I hereby certify that this is a true and correct copyof an action taken and entered on the minutes of the Board of superyipors on the date silown. C.C. Correspondents ATTESTED: e2 ! ! 9 G p of SuPHIpervisors andR unty Adm Adminisf the trator Director, GMEDA Health Services, Director Deputy Community Services, Director o-A � �.I. D✓ +,�IIttrd DfueruiIIr JON D. MIKELS Tiauntg of tktn �.:��.erna>>biro SUPERVISOR SECOND DISTRICT RECEIVED !(pVNTYy.� n SAN BfA NA0.DIN0 MAY - 9 1996 SUPERVISOR SMITH May 1, 1996 RECEIVE® Chair of the Board of Supervisors MAY 9 1996 The Honorable Jeff Smith, M.D. Contra Costa County Supervisor CLERK BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Second District co>�ria eosTa,co. 651 Pine Street, Room 108-A Martinez, CA 94553 Re: Request for Notice of Any Proposed Action by County of Contra Costa Relating to Ward Valley Low-Level Radioactive Waste Facility in County of San Bernardino Dear Supervisor Smith: On behalf of the Board of Supervisors of the County of San Bernardino, I am writing to you regarding the Ward Valley low-level radioactive waste ("LLRW') facility that is proposed for development in our County. As you may know, the State of California, the host state for the Southwestern Compact that also includes Arizona, North Dakota and South Dakota, issued a license to US Ecology in September of 1993 to construct and operate the Ward Valley facility. The license would permit US Ecology to dispose of LLRW in unlined trenches that are 20 miles from the Colorado River, the primary drinking water supply for much of Southern California. The County of San Bernardino has serious concerns as to whether the proposed Ward Valley facility can and will be operated safely, without placing our County residents and Southern California's drinking water supply at risk. These concerns were greatly intensified last year after the release of data regarding another LLRW facility in Beatty, Nevada, also operated by US Ecology, that reported rapid lateral and downward migration of contaminants from the site. (In fact, US Ecology's track record is less than stellar; radioactive waste dumps that it operates in other states also have leaked.) Although the State of California, US Ecology, and their respective experts had contended that it would take tens of thousands of years for radionuclides to reach the water table at Beatty, the recent data from the site reveals that in less than 35 years,, tritium and carbon-14 had migrated 357 feet below the surface adjacent to the Beatty facility. Throughout the Ward Valley licensing proceedings, the Beatty site was San Bernardino County Government Center • 385 North Arrowhead Avenue, Fifth Floor • San Bernardino, CA 92415-0110 • (909)387-4833 Rancho Cucamonga District Office • Foothill Communities Law and Justice Center • 8303 Haven Avenue • Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 0 (909)945-4297 Chair of the Board of Supervisors May 1, 1996 Page 2 considered an analog for Ward Valley because both are arid sites with very similar geologic characteristics. At present, the federal government owns the Ward Valley land on which the facility is to be constructed. The Department of Interior ("DOI") recently announced that it would not consider transferring the land to the State of California until a number of critical issues are resolved regarding the potential for radioactive wastes buried at the site to migrate off-site and contaminate groundwater. These unresolved issues, including analysis of why the Beatty site failed and the results of tritium tests at Ward Valley, as recommended in the National Academy of Sciences report, will be addressed in a supplemental environmental impact statement prepared by DOI. Assuring that the Ward Valley facility can be operated safely is clearly an issue that affects more than just the residents of San Bernardino County. Your Board may be asked or on its own decide to consider issues related to the construction and operation of the Ward Valley facility, as it is the designated repository for LLRW generated throughout the State. For example, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors adopted a motion last week opposing the Ward Valley facility as currently proposed and calling fora letter to be sent to the President, the California congressional delegation and the Governor setting forth the Board's concerns regarding possible contamination of the County's water supply and the need to consider alternatives to the design of this LLRW project. Our Board of Supervisors wrote to the individual Los Angeles County Board members in advance of their consideration of the Ward Valley motion to explain the County's concern regarding migration of radioactive waste from the site's unlined trenches. We also provided information to the Board to counter the public relations campaign ,of Ward Valley proponents that would have the public and local government officials believe that any further delay in construction of the LLRW facility will result in a very serious threat to public health and safety because waste is allegedly piling up at hundreds of locations around the state. In fact, the State of South Carolina recently amended the license for its Barnwell LLRW facility to permit it to accept radioactive waste from all states for the indefinite future. Moreover, disposal at the Barnwell site is an economically viable interim solution. Thus, the important additional testing and environmental review that the Department of Interior is requiring at Ward Valley does not create either a health and safety problem for the public or a financial burden for generators of LLRW in California. Chair of the Board of Supervisors May 1, 1996 Page 3 The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors would greatly appreciate receiving prior notice of any motion, resolution or other action that the County of Contra Costa is considering adopting relating to the Ward Valley LLRW facility so that we can participate in your consideration of this important public health and safety issue. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any questions or comments regarding either this request or any other issues related to Ward Valley. Very truly yours, O4 n D. Mikels Supervisor, Second District County of San Bernardino JDM:nt