[CPEO-MEF] Moffett wetlands cleanup plan questioned

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

A coalition of environmental organizations is asking local city councils
to challenge the Navy's proposed plan for remediation of the wetlands at
Moffett Field, in my home town of Mountain View, California. Here's a
copy of the coalition's resolution, along with links to two news
articles on the situation. The key issue is that the Navy proposes to
impose institutional controls on the wetlands, now owned and managed by
NASA's Ames Research Center, to prevent tidal restoration of the
wetlands and the use of the site by fish-eating birds.

A RESOLUTION ON RESTORATION OF MOFFETT FIELD SUPERFUND SITE 25 TO TIDAL MARSH


WHEREAS, the San Francisco Bay Estuary, the nation's second largest and
most biologically significant estuary on the Pacific Coast, has suffered
the most extensive degradation of any estuary in the nation, with more
than 80 percent of some 200,000 acres of tidal marshes, and 100,000
acres of seasonal wetlands, vernal pools, creeks and streams lost over
the past century;

WHEREAS, 27 organizations and agencies of the San Francisco Bay Joint
Venture have agreed to an achievable vision for restoration of the
Estuary, described in Restoring the Estuary: Implementation Strategy of
the San Francisco Bay Joint Venture (2001), which includes habitat goals
for the restoration and enhancement of 102,000 acres of Bay habitats and
seasonal wetlands;

WHEREAS, the foundation and primary framework for the San Francisco Bay
Joint Venture's habitat goals is the scientifically based ecosystem
management plan Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals Report (1999);

WHEREAS, the Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals Report, developed by more
than 100 scientists, concluded that "as filled or developed areas within
the baylands become available, their potential for restoration to fish
and wildlife habitat should be fully considered" and "natural
transitions from mudflat through tidal marsh to adjacent uplands [be
restored] wherever possible";

WHEREAS, the Baylands Ecosystem Habitat Goals Report specifically
addresses the Mountain View area, linking Moffett Field's wetlands to
the condition of the entire South Bay, by recommending: "Restore large
areas of tidal marsh and provide a continuous corridor of tidal marsh
along the bayshore";

WHEREAS, the Santa Clara Basin Watershed Management Initiative,
initiated in 1996 by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the State
Water Resources Control Board and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water
Quality Control Board, and including as signatories the cities of
Cupertino, Palo Alto, San Jose, Santa Clara and Sunnyvale, as well as 26
other community, local and state agency stakeholders, has adopted as a
principal goal "To protect and/or restore streams, reservoirs, wetlands
and the Bay for the benefit of fish, wildlife and human uses" (WMI Goal 5);

WHEREAS, tidal restoration projects have successfully been undertaken at
Shoreline Park (Shoreline Marsh) and other sites in the San Francisco
Bay Estuary;

WHEREAS, Moffett Field Site 25 offers an excellent opportunity for
restoration to tidal marsh;

WHEREAS, tidal restoration of Moffett Field Site 25 would be in accord
with the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act (CERCLA) criterion for community acceptance of the Moffett
Field Site 25 Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (CERCLA; Interim
Final, October 1988, EPA 9355.3-01);

WHEREAS, it is beneficial to the health and welfare of all citizens of
the South Bay to live in a diverse and vibrant environment of high
ecological quality and sustainability;

 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the City of
__________________ that the City approves the following statement concerning

RESTORATION OF MOFFETT FIELD SUPERFUND SITE 25 TO TIDAL MARSH:

The City of _______________ finds that a reasonably anticipated future
land use of Moffett Field Site 25 is restoration to tidal marsh, and therefore

Moffett Field Site 25 Superfund remediation should be performed at a
level that would support future restoration of the site to tidal marsh -
that is, to allow the controlled flow of waters, fish and wildlife from
the San Francisco Bay into the Moffett Field wetlands.



RESOLUTION PROPOSED BY:

Alliance For A New Moffett Field
CLEAN South Bay
Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
(partial list)

For news coverage of this effort, see the Mountain View Voice (June 29,
2001) and the San Jose Mercury News (July 2, 2001)

http://www.mv-voice.com/thisweek/2001_06_29.moff29.html

http://www0.mercurycenter.com/front/docs1/cleanup0702.htm

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
lsiegel@cpeo.org
http://www.cpeo.org

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