Andrew Brandt, Contributing Writer Daily Californian April 21, 1992

City site laced with toxic waste Residents tour lot, assail Berkeley for poor operation Group says city's fuel yard poses environmental risk

A newly formed West Berkeley neighborhood group is assailing the city for a "lack of environmental concern" regarding the operation of its corporation yard.

The corporation yard, located at 1325 Bancroft Way in the heart of a residential area of West Berkeley, is where all city vehicles are fueled, maintained and stored when not in use.

The city has come under fire for years from neighbors and environmentalists who say the yard is so poorly maintained that toxic materials seep unabated into the surrounding ground.

The latest group to enter the fray is the Bancroft Guardian Coalition, which organized a tour of the yard yesterday for city officials and neighbors, In attendance were City Councilmember Mary Wainwright, Public Works Director Jordan Rich, Toxics Management Coordinator Denise Johnston and officials from the facility itself.

In a statement issued last Tuesday, the Bancroft Guardian Coalition called for a "complete re-evaluation of the physical operations of the corporation yard and its impact on the west of Sacramento Street area.

"As residents, we offer direction to the city as to how it might become a 'good neighbor."

Oil and gasoline stored on the site in containers which leak after an extended period of time have the coalition particularly concerned.

Members cite an example buried under the site -- four unused steel gasoline and diesel storage tanks which a 1987 Planning and Community Development Department environmental impact survey recommended for removal.

During the tour, more than 20 neighbors and coalition members, some with infants in strollers, followed Rich around the yard as he inspected various locations reported to have been sites of toxic spills or areas of concern.

Rich and corporation yard Equipment Manager Kirby Chung sought to allay fears that the storage tanks pose a danger to the public.

"There are two 10,000 gallon, fiber-glass, double-walled tanks now used to store unleaded and diesel fuel in the yard," Chung said, adding that the newer tanks are electronically monitored every month for leaks.

"A phase one study (of the old tanks) has just been completed," said Rich, who told the group around him that the report had just come in that morning, and that he had not had time to read it before the tour.

The first phase of the study tried to determine whether a problem exists from leaking remnants of gasoline, or if any contamination had leached into the surrounding soil.

"The city has already begun to address the pollution issue at the corp yard," said Tamlyn Bright, a member of the Citizen's Environmental Action Commission.

Bright said the most recent action by her commission was to recommend the city manager hire someone immediately to clean up the toxic waste in the yard.

Beside the threat of air and ground pollution from storage tanks, noise and automobile traffic resulting from the yard's daily operation have also ignited the coalition's ire.

Neighbors of the site also worry about the use of a city-owned vacant lot across the street from the yard. Last week, a large pile of soil and asphalt suddenly appeared in the center of the lot, leaving some suspicious about the material's origin and properties.

Residents Dan Horodysky, Wood and others repeatedly requested that the city remove the soil and build a "green area" on the site.

"It seems like the city is more interested in building volleyball courts and blacktop basketball courts. We want some green area," Wood said.

Residents also angrily criticized corporation yard employees who park their cars on neighboring streets due to a lack of on-site parking.

"Even people who work at City Hall park around here and make the walk to work to avoid tickets," said Millard Collins, who has lived near the site for 32 years.

After the tour, Wainwright praised neighbors for raising concerns about the corporation yard. "We're glad that you were here to get on our backs to keep us on our toes," she said