Farmland Offered for Jail, but Cleanup Costs Loom

At first blush, it looks like an offer the county couldn’t refuse.

For a measly $205,000, the Irvine Co. has agreed to hand over 4.28 acres of prime agricultural land next to the James A. Musick Branch Jail as part of a complicated lease-purchase agreement.

Sheriff Brad Gates strongly backs the proposal, hoping the land can be used to grow produce that the jail’s low-security inmates would harvest.

But in recent weeks, several supervisors have expressed concerns about the deal because it would transfer liability for ground-water contamination at the site from the Irvine Co. to the county.

An environmental study found that waste from a munitions dump at the nearby El Toro Marine Corps Air Station has contaminated a portion of the property. Though the federal government is responsible for cleaning up the waste, some supervisors fear the county could still be left with a risk of liability.

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“There is clearly a risk factor for the county if we take the land,” said Supervisor Marian Bergeson. “The federal government is responsible, but the [cleanup money] is very limited. It can’t cover all the sites.”

On Tuesday, the Board of Supervisors postponed action on the deal until the contamination issue and other points raised by officials are examined.

In addition to the ground-water pollution, Bergeson questioned whether the county would be liable for possible pesticide contamination if the Sheriff’s Department at some point decides to develop the farmland.

Supervisor Don Saltarelli raised concerns about the lease-purchase agreement, which calls for the county to make additional payments to the Irvine Co. if the land is taken out of agricultural use and developed.

But Saltarelli said Thursday that he discussed the matter with Gates as well as with county real estate officials and now feels satisfied with the deal because the Sheriff’s Department plans to use the land only for farming.

“I think it’s wise that we stepped back and made sure this is what we wanted to do,” he said. “But I feel comfortable with it at this point. I feel comfortable that the federal government will handle” any toxic cleanup that is required.

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Gates could not be reached for comment Thursday. But supporters insist that the deal offers valuable land to the county at a fraction of its market value.

If the county buys the land, it takes on the potential pollution liabilities and cannot seek recourse from the Irvine Co.

Although the federal government has agreed to clean up toxic contamination at El Toro, County Counsel Laurence M. Watson said the pledge is “not ironclad” and is contingent on several factors, including appropriation of sufficient cleanup funds.

If federal officials later decide not to honor the pledge, the county may be forced to sue the government in an effort to force a cleanup of the property, Watson said. “It’s a risk we take,” he said.

It remains unclear how severely the site’s ground water is contaminated or whether mitigation measures would be costly.

The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Defense have already spent more than $56 million on cleanup efforts at El Toro, but estimate that another $166 million will be needed to complete the job.

Bergeson said the land-purchase deal needs greater scrutiny before the board votes. “We really need to assess what the risks are if we make the purchase,” she said.