By Christina Zubko
Late August, the EPA announced that its Technical Assistance for Communities (TASC) will host a public and virtual meeting to discuss the Halaco Engineering Company Superfund Site in South Oxnard. This meeting will introduce TASC technical advisor Karmen King (from Skeo) and review the Superfund Process and the Site’s Remedial Investigation, including the Risk Assessment. EPA staff will also be available to answer questions. Kathleen Aisling, the EPA Remedial Project Manager encourages attendees to bring creative solutions and alternative ideas for remediation for the EPA to investigate.
The meeting will be held on Thursday, September 15th, 2022, 6:30 PM – 8:30 PM PT at the South Oxnard Center, 200 E Bard Road, Oxnard, CA 93033. The meeting will be conducted in English and Spanish. The meeting will also be available virtually via Zoom, please use the following information to participate virtually:
Zoom Meeting: bit.ly/HalacoEPA
Meeting ID: 837 9637 2282
Passcode: 276212
Phone In Only: 877-853-5257
The Halaco Engineering company operated a secondary metal smelter at the site from 1965-2004. The Site includes a 11 acre smelter, a 27-acre waste management area, the underlying groundwater, and contaminated soils and sediments in adjacent properties owned by the city of Oxnard and the Nature Conservancy, which own a portion of the Ormond Beach wetlands, one of the few remaining coastal wetlands in Southern California for migratory birds to rest and a critical breeding area for endangered bird species, including the western snowy plover. For years, the homeless have built encampments around the Site, which has raised health and safety concerns and questions about the integrity of the Superfund mountain.
According to the EPA, the waste is high in aluminum, magnesium, and other metals. Some of the waste contains radioactive thorium and radium. The city and Nature Conservancy own a portion of the Ormond Beach wetlands, For more information about the Site, please visit the site webpage: www.epa.gov/superfund/halaco.
For questions or to request accommodations to participate in the meeting, please contact Josie Torres, Skeo, at (434) 233-4184 or [email protected] by September 7.
Christina Zubko is co-founder of Friends of Ormond Beach which advocates for the conservation of the Ormond Beach wetlands. You can follow Friends of Ormond Beach on Instagram and email the organization at [email protected].
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