The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) has scheduled a biannual meeting for April 10 to brief the public on plans for cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL).
The state agency said Thursday it plans to update the public on progress made during the past six months toward starting environmental remediation of the 2,800-acre Simi Valley site formerly used for rocket engine tests and nuclear energy research. The meeting in West Hills will also address DTSC’s goals for the next six months.
The state finished taking comments on two major documents, the draft program environmental impact report (PEIR) and draft program management plan (PMP), in December 2017. The Department of Toxic Substances Control has said it hopes to complete the PEIR this year. The PEIR will spell out the project’s potential environmental problems and potential ways to minimize them. The PMP is meant to provide a road map for cleanup.
The three parties responsible for cleanup of the site – NASA, Boeing, and the Department of Energy – are expected to submit draft documents on their plans by early 2019. California has targeted early 2019 to begin remediation of the highly contaminated site.
Earlier this year the three responsible parties were given an additional two months, until April 15, to start baseline air monitoring at Santa Susana. The monitoring is meant to gauge air quality before contaminated dust is stirred up during remediation.
Depending on what cleanup option the state picks, DOE has said its share of the soil remediation cost could range from $100 million to $1.6 billion. The department is responsible for 472 acres at the site, in Area IV and the Northern Buffer Zone.
