SEAL BEACH : Navy Waste Permit Opposed by Council

Concerned about the Navy’s previous handling of hazardous waste storage, the City Council this week voted to oppose a permit being sought by the Naval Weapons Station to continue storing toxic substances there.

At a public hearing tonight, the city will ask that an environmental impact study be completed before a new permit is approved by the council.

“I have really grave concerns because of our schoolchildren who are so nearby and the fact that the facility’s so close to residential areas,” said Councilwoman Marilyn Bruce Hastings.

Councilman Joe Hunt, the dissenter in the council’s 3-1 vote, said he is satisfied that the regulations and procedures in place are adequate to protect the community. The substances stored at the station are found at paint stores and gas stations throughout the city, he said.

Both the state and the federal Environmental Protection Agency have recommended that the permit be issued without an environmental impact report, said state Department of Health Services spokesman Allan Hirsch.

“We feel that with the knowledge we have that this facility can operate safely without presenting undue risk to health or the environment,” Hirsch said. “But one of the reasons for the hearing is to give the public a chance to let us know if they feel there is either something wrong with this facility or if there’s some problem that we’ve overlooked and are not aware of.”

The permit, first granted in 1983, allows the Navy to store waste, including motor oil, paint thinner, battery acid and lacquer thinner, for up to 120 days. The waste is stored in two 9,100-gallon tanks and in 55-gallon drums.

Although Navy spokesmen point out that there have never been any accidents or spills at the facility, the Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Health Services have found violations in recent years.

A 1989 EPA inspection turned up three violations. Two of them were related to paper work and the third was for storing incompatible substances next to each other. Navy spokesmen said that the chemicals had just been unloaded and that all violations were corrected to the satisfaction of the EPA, Hirsch said.

In a 1987 inspection, the Department of Health Services found a waste pile in an open area not sheltered from rain, lead acid batteries in a storage yard where they were not permitted, and inadequate labeling of hazardous substances.

“Ideally, these violations should not have occurred, but these are the types of violations we generally find when we inspect facilities, both privately owned and military,” Hirsch said.

Tonight’s public hearing begins at 7 p.m. in the Seal Beach City Council chambers, 211 8th St. Residents can also submit comments in writing to the Department of Health Services, Toxic Substance Control Program, Facility Permitting Branch, 245 W. Broadway, Long Beach 90802. The deadline for comments is Dec. 23.