OXNARD : D.A. Looks at Report Navy Dumps Waste

The district attorney’s office said Wednesday it will investigate allegations that the Navy has illegally dumped toxic and radioactive waste from its base in Port Hueneme at an Oxnard landfill.

The allegations were raised in a letter sent last week to Sheriff John Gillespie by John Cobian, a professional court interpreter who is running for mayor in Oxnard.

In the Oct. 11 letter, Cobian said he was told by Navy employees that yellow dump trucks from the base had taken radioactive soil from an Antarctica experiment to the Bailard Landfill on Gonzales Road.

“It is my understanding that the placing of hazardous waste where it may eventually contaminate the underground water supply is a crime and comes under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff’s Department,” the letter said.

In a written statement, the Navy denied Cobian’s allegations, saying it only transports “non-hazardous solid waste, such as cardboard, wood, plastic, empty food containers . . .” to the landfill.

However, the statement said crushed rock from a reactor site in Antarctica had been used to pave an equipment storage area on the base. The rock contains “extremely low levels of radioactivity,” according to the statement.

A sheriff’s spokesman said Cobian’s allegations were turned over to the district attorney’s office because the Sheriff’s Department lacks the technical expertise to investigate such allegations.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Greg Brose, a supervisor for the county Consumer and Environment Protection Division, said he will lead an investigation to determine if the allegations are accurate.