Lead-Tainted Ash, Liability Fear Prompt City to Close Off Area Near Chollas Lake

The City of San Diego will close off a popular 80-acre area near Chollas Lake because of concerns about lead-tainted ash left there several decades ago when the site was a garbage-burning dump, officials said Wednesday.

The action was prompted by a request from county health authorities and by fears that the city could be held liable for injuries to joggers and others who use the undeveloped, canyon-like area on the west side of Chollas Lake, officials said.

Meanwhile, consultants hired by the city and the Navy are attempting to determine the extent of pollution in the area and the cost of cleaning it up.

The Navy has been planning to build housing on about half the site, which was included in a proposed land swap with the city. But the deal has been stalled by the Navy’s discovery of high levels of lead in sections of the ash. The city has plans to develop a park on the other half.

Fallow for 3 Decades

The site has lain fallow for at least three decades and is surrounded by a fence. However, gaps in the fence, open gates and holes made by local residents have provided easy access for joggers and bicyclists, who regularly use the well-worn paths and trails that crisscross the canyon.

“We’ve asked the city to repair the fence and increase the security to keep people out of the area,” said Gary Stephany, director of environmental health services for the county. The city also has been asked to cover a 100- by 300-foot area of exposed ash with at least one foot of dirt to keep the ash from being kicked up into the air, he said.

City and county officials met at the site Wednesday and decided to take action when they noted the number of people using the area as well as the easy access, officials said. They said they had not been aware that people used the area.

Richard Hays, assistant director of the city’s Department of General Services, said he was “shocked” to find people using the site for recreation.

“They’re not supposed to be there,” he said. He also has asked for an explanation of why a gate on College Grove Drive was “wide open” Wednesday morning, he said.

Stephany said city officials agreed Wednesday to do “whatever is necessary” to minimize any danger from the ash.

“There’s only a problem if someone is stirring it up,” Stephany said. It is highly unlikely that adults who jog along the ridge on the perimeter of the area or use the canyon’s trails are endangering their health, he added.

Children are more susceptible to damage from lead poisoning, but probably would not be affected by playing in the area unless they were “out there playing daily and inhaling an awful lot of that stuff,” Stephany said. “Based on the preliminary data, we would not expect to see anybody sick out there.”

Request From County

However, the county has asked the city to check the levels of other heavy metals in the area and to perform “some further testing to see if a health risk assessment is necessary,” Stephany said.

County officials said they would be satisfied if the city fenced off and covered only the areas where ash appears at the surface, but city officials said Wednesday the entire canyon area will be secured and never should have been open to the public.

“My direction was to close it off,” said Terry Flynn, director of the city’s General Services Department. “I don’t think it’s a good idea for people to be in there.”

“No Trespassing” signs will be posted along the chain-link fence that surrounds the area bounded by Redwood Street on the north and College Grove Drive on the south, Flynn said, and additional fencing will be added to close entrances.

Flynn added that the site should never have been open to the public because it is not officially designated for park use.

City Would Be Liable

“If anybody was hurt in there today, if they break a leg, the city would be liable,” he said. “We’re trying to make sure the public is safe.”

City and county officials have long been aware that large amounts of incinerator ash remain in the area as a result of a city-run trash-burning plant located there in the 1940s and 1950s. The city had hoped to use the area as a landfill, but those plans were dropped about seven years ago, after protests by area residents, who were concerned about pollution from the landfill. At the time they also raised questions about the safety of the ash.

The ash question arose again last fall, when the Navy presented the city with a report indicating a high level of lead in ash samples collected from the site where the Navy is planning to build 300 units of family housing. The Navy study also located a questionable area of ash on a nearby area that is to become part of the city park.

City officials said Wednesday that they hired a consultant last week to study the ash in the park area. That study, as well as another Navy study of the housing area, should be completed within two months.

As a result, the Navy has refused to accept the deed to the city land and Navy officials have said they expect the city to pay for any cleanup if a cleanup is possible.