In the absence of any public comments on its notice of proposed closing, the department authorized Frey Environmental to pull its monitoring wells at the Pine Cove Market. This work was completed Thursday and Friday, May 9 and 10. The wells must be destroyed and any waste product disposed of safely.
The next step is official closure of the project. DEH is confidant that the threat to ground water or soil contamination has been removed or is very unlikely.
“Once we receive written documentation of the removals and waste disposal, we will issue the closure letter,” wrote Sharon Boltinghouse, associate public health professional geologist with the Riverside County Environmental Health Department, Environmental Cleanup Programs.
In 2009, a proposed closing was reviewed and rejected. Since then, soil vapor extraction has been performed twice, and in 2011a groundwater over purge event was conducted for approximately six hours on well MW-2 using a vacuum truck. All of the remediation projects have resulted in substantial reduction and near elimination of the hydrocarbon presence.
The case began with the removal of two 4,000-gallon underground storage tanks in October 1994. Hydrocarbons were then detected in the soil and near the surface.
A summary of the case closure proposal can be found on the State Water Resources Control Board site:
geotracker.waterboards.ca.gov/view_documents.asp?global_id=T0606500406&enforcement_id=6147170.
