Parklands Soil Remediation

Rancho Palos Verde Park, Landfill Remediation
Rancho Palos Verde, California

The Source Group was contracted by the City of Rancho Palos Verde to assist the City in remediation of parklands that were formerly a U.S. military base that specifically targeted a firing range with significant lead contamination.

Prior to the city contracting, 4,000 yards of lead impacted soil was inappropriately disposed at an inert waste only landfill. The mistake was discovered several months after the disposal. The Source Group was tasked with rectifying the situation under the supervision of the DTSC criminal investigations unit.

Due to the unique nature of the soil, a dark brown, clay rich soil with distinctive clasts of Monterey shale in it, The Source Group was able to go into the landfill and explore for the soil using a combination of Geoprobe and trenching techniques. The soil was found and identified by soil type and the discovery of actual bullets in the soil.

The Source Group then mapped the extent of the soil. We successfully removed the lead-containing soils and characterized the soil for appropriate disposal to a combination of Class 2 and Class 3 facilities in California. The excavation was subjected to confirmation sampling and a detailed report documenting the procedures was complied to satisfy the DTSC and other interested parties.

The project had special circumstances, as the landfill was a hostile party to the project as were local residence groups who attempted to use the inappropriate disposal as a tool for closing the landfill.

The project was multi-faceted and high profile requiring public forums to comply with "right to know" statutes and to accommodate feedback from the community.