Floyd Accuses Developer of Impropriety at Dump Site : Environment: The assemblyman says plans for a mall are going forward without proper investigation of contamination levels. Carson officials contend he is exaggerating possible dangers at the 157-acre site.

A fight over the future of a former Carson dump heated up Wednesday with a state assemblyman’s allegations that a developer is rushing to build a mall without conducting a proper study of toxic waste contamination at the 157-acre site.

The property, near the intersection of the San Diego and Harbor freeways, is one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land left in Los Angeles County. Carson Realty Projects wants to build a 1.2 million square-foot factory outlet mall dubbed Metro 2000 on the property.

Assemblyman Richard E. Floyd (D-Carson) asked the state Department of Toxic Substances Control to halt all activities at the site, including a temporary rock-crushing operation that was approved by Carson officials last December but has not yet been installed. State officials said they would consider his request.

Carson officials said Floyd was exaggerating the extent of the contamination.

“As far as the city is concerned, we certainly acknowledge that there is (cleanup) required for the property, but our understanding from the state is that it is not even close to the severity stated by Dick Floyd,” said Sheri Repp, Carson’s senior planner.

Planning for the mall is in preliminary stages. After a study of environmental problems at the site is completed and approved by the state, the developer must submit a cleanup plan to state officials. Then mall plans go to the city of Carson for approval.

Floyd criticized the developer, Carson Realty Projects, saying it had graded the property without permits and improperly hauled topsoil there to skew the results of a study of the extent and types of waste at the landfill. Until the mid-1960s, the site was used as a landfill by Cal Compact Inc. Besides normal municipal garbage, the dump contains paint sludge, solvents, tank-bottom residue and oil-drilling mud, according to state officials.

Robert Schafer, spokesman for the mall project, denied any wrongdoing. He accused Floyd, who is running for election to the newly-drawn 55th Assembly District, of “political grandstanding.”

“He doesn’t know what he’s talking about,” Schafer said of Floyd.

John Pollack, president of Sheldon L. Pollack Corp., the construction management and general contracting firm conducting the study, said Floyd “used old information and took things out of context.” The study is now about two-thirds complete, he said.

In a press conference held outside the gated property, Floyd said that the Metro 2000 developers have attempted to push the project through without adequately addressing health and environmental concerns.

“This is all illegal fill,” Floyd said in describing the mounds of dirt behind him.

The additional soil adds weight that could push down contaminated soil to taint ground water or crack the landfill and expose waste to the outside air, said an aide to Floyd.

Allen Hirsch, a spokesman with the Department of Toxic Substances Control, said that the company improperly hauled 50,000 cubic yards of topsoil to the site, but that it did not jeopardize any of the studies.

The developer has been sending the state progress reports on the study, which is being supervised by state environmental officials, Hirsch said.

Proposed Mall Site

Investors want to build a giant shopping and entertainment center on a former landfill site near the intersecion of the San Diego and Harbor freeways in Carson.