The former Riverside sewer plant property will have more soil removed, more tests if state approves.

A plan for the second cleanup of a contaminated former sewer plant site in Riverside is awaiting state approval in what appears to be an unprecedented situation.
Development of homes was halted in June at the nearly 60-acre site, which lies between the Santa Ana River and Crest and Rutland avenues in the city’s Arlanza neighborhood.
A sewer plant operated on the land from 1942 to 1965. The discovery of cancer-causing chemicals known as PCBs in the soil after a 2003 sewage sludge spill led developer and property owner Henry C. “Chuck” Cox to pay for a $12 million cleanup.
The state Department of Toxic Substances Control oversaw the cleanup and pronounced it complete in 2014.
But residents and environmental activists weren’t satisfied that the site was clean and pressed for new testing, which found that contamination on some parts of the site remained higher than the cleanup target set by the state.
The state law governing the Riverside site cleanup has been used for other contaminated properties, but state toxics officials were not aware of another site that was reexamined after the state declared it clean.
The new plan calls for removal of PCB-contaminated soil, but much less than was removed in the earlier cleanup.
When the soil was re-tested in November, PCB levels in just under half of 176 samples were below the cleanup target, and in some of those cases weren’t detected at all, said Barbara Lee, state toxics director. Four of the samples contained more than 50 parts per million of PCBs, the level “at which soil is defined as hazardous waste,” she said.
Of the remaining samples, 54 were below the federal cleanup standard of one part per million and 34 were between one and 50 parts per million.
“The overall characterization of the sampling is that the majority of the site … does not pose any concerns,” Lee said. “The evaluation that the scientists on our team have done suggests that there is no threat to public safety as a result of the site in its current state.”
The four samples that showed the highest levels of PCBs are in an area that’s not planned for homes, but it will be cleaned up regardless, Lee said.
Bob Beers, Cox’s project manager, said the new plan is to remove soil from spots with high levels of PCBs and then retest. The amount of soil to be taken away is likely about five to eight percent of the 175,000 tons removed in the earlier cleanup, he said.
The state must approve Cox’s plan before work begins. Lee said the department also will craft a plan to test for contamination in public areas and at homes near the plant site, which residents have sought. A working group that includes residents will have input on the testing plan.
Some residents say illnesses and deaths in the neighborhood are linked to the contamination, though none have made their medical records public. The state is exploring ways to provide health screenings to residents who want them, Lee said.
The state will look for grants or partnerships that could help pay for off-site testing, she said.
Additional testing and cleanup since the state declared the site clean may end up costing Cox about $1.5 million, which he will likely recover from insurance, said Vince Bartleman, Cox’s business partner in the planned home development.
Lee has also promised to come to a Riverside City Council meeting on or before March 15 to update city officials about the cleanup and answer questions. Earlier this month, council members complained that state officials have been uncommunicative and suggested they could use their power of subpoena to encourage Lee to come to a public meeting.