Air Force signs cleanup decision for former McClellan Skeet Range

  • Published
  • By Mary Hall
  • Air Force Real Property Agency
The Air Force marks another cleanup achievement for the former McClellan Air Force Base with the signing of the Record of Decision for the former Skeet Range. Encompassing some 50 acres in the northwest portion of the former base, the Skeet Range includes seven vernal pools and an unlined drainage ditch. Several buildings and a baseball field have been built on top of the former Skeet Range.

The range had four skeet stations and two trap stations used by Air Force personnel from 1971 through the mid-1980s. As a result, some soil in the area is contaminated with lead from the shot pellets and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), a byproduct of the clay pigeons.

The ROD is a legally binding document signed by the Air Force, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the State of California's Department of Toxic Substances Control. It details the selected remedy for protecting human health and the environment from contaminants in the soil and sediment at the former Skeet Range.

"The signing of this decision document is a significant milestone in the cleanup process," said Steve Mayer , McClellan's top environmental coordinator. "It is the last step before actual design and implementation of the cleanup remedy."

The remedy calls for excavation of soils with contaminants above industrial use levels and their disposal in an approved offsite landfill. Institutional controls will be implemented restricting future development to industrial use. The areas to be excavated include three vernal pools. The Air Force will mitigate their loss by purchasing mitigation credits as approved by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Because the site is already industrial, and the anticipated future use is industrial, the Air Force will not restore the vernal pools after they are excavated.

The cleanup protects human health and the environment and complies with the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). The public provided comments on the Air Force's proposed cleanup plan during a 30-day public comment period this summer. These comments and Air Force responses are in the Responsiveness Summary of the Record Of Decision.

The cleanup is expected to occur in fall 2011.

NOTE:
The Skeet Range ROD is available for public review at the following locations:

McClellan Information Repository
3411 Olson Street, McClellan, CA 95652
Hours: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday - Friday
For an appointment, call (916) 643-1250, ext. 201

Online
https://afrpaar.lackland.af.mil/AR/getdoc/MCCLN/MCCLN_AR_7327.pdf

For more information, please contact Mary Hall at (916) 643-1250 ext 232 or mary.hall.5.ctr@us.af.mil