FILLMORE : Soil at Sanctuary Found to Be Safe

Test results show that oil wastes dumped by the Ventura County Flood Control District in the Sespe Condor Sanctuary were not at levels considered hazardous under state laws, officials said.

“That means the level of contamination is such that it poses little or no threat to humans or the environment,” said Bob Gallagher, who is heading the county’s investigation of the Flood Control District’s dumping practices.

Gallagher said the results, released Tuesday, are good news for district officials, who may be required to clean up oil and antifreeze that have been routinely dumped into the ground near remote rain gauges during annual maintenance.

If the oil had been found to be at toxic levels, the district attorney’s office would have a stronger case for bringing civil or criminal charges against flood control officials for improperly disposing of the substances, Gallagher said. The case was referred to the district attorney’s environmental division for review last week, he said.

He cautioned, however, that soil samples were taken at only four of the more than 20 rain gauges in the county’s back country monitored by the Flood Control District. Environmental health investigators will inspect the other dumping sites when the snow melts this spring to determine whether contamination is heavier, Gallagher said.

The Environmental Health Department began investigating the Flood Control District in February when flood control officials admitted that workers had been dumping oil and antifreeze near rain gauges for more than 20 years.

Environmental health officials were concerned because state laws prohibit dumping hazardous materials into the ground.

Officials also speculated that an endangered California condor that died of antifreeze poisoning last fall may have ingested the toxic material at a flood control dumping site in the sanctuary, situated north of Fillmore.

Soil test results released earlier did not show any traces of antifreeze in the samples taken near the gauges, officials said.