U.S. Still Assuming Air Use for El Toro Base

Despite the overwhelming passage of an anti-airport initiative, federal officials plan to turn over the El Toro Marine base to Orange County for reuse as a commercial airport.

The U.S. government contends that the initiative, Measure F, doesn’t affect the base closure and reuse process, which is set by federal law. They recognize only the authority of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, which has been granted responsibility to decide El Toro’s fate, federal officials said.

A 3-2 majority of the board supports an airport for the 4,700-acre base. So unless the board changes its mind, the land is on track to be handed over for an airport, perhaps by year’s end, they said.

“Everything in Orange County right now is speculation,” said Jack Kane, director of the Navy’s base realignment and closure office in Washington, which oversees El Toro’s fate. “Depending on who you talk to in Orange County, [airport foes] are either in the driver’s seat or the back seat. We’re not reacting to either one.”

Critics say the military is ignoring the will of county voters. The federal government wants to turn over the property for the lowest price, said San Francisco attorney Richard Jacobs, who represents South County cities opposed to the airport.

The federal government is required to clean up the base, which after years of use by the military ranks as one of the government’s most polluted sites. If the base is used as an airport, it would require the least amount of environmental cleanup, airport opponents argue. If the land is used for something else--homes, for example--the federal government would have to pay far more to clean it up, critics say.

Should the county abandon an airport, local taxpayers could be forced to foot the bill for costly cleanup efforts, Jacobs contends.

“The ultimate outcome would be that Orange County would be left with 4,700 acres of contaminated property that it would have for a long, long time,” Jacobs said.

Although federal authorities downplayed that possibility, Board of Supervisors Chairman Charles V. Smith confirmed it was a concern.

He said Navy officials have told him the level and funding of cleanup efforts depend upon what the former base will be used for.

“We’ve been told if it’s something else [later], it’ll be difficult to get the government to pay for [the additional cleanup],” he said.

Anthony Gallegos, regional director of the Office of Economic Adjustment in San Francisco, which is also involved in El Toro oversight, agreed that cleanup for non-aviation reuse would be more costly.

“To pay for total cleanup to residential standards would be extremely expensive,” Gallegos said. “The uses dictate the cleanup.”

But Laurie Nelson, in charge of overseeing base cleanup at El Toro, said the worst contamination on the base is isolated, which means that most of the land already is being cleaned to residential standards. Exceptions include two landfills, which will be capped and development restricted in that area, she said.

Regardless of the base’s ultimate reuse, the Navy--not the county--has the obligation to clean it, Nelson said.

Measure F, passed by 67% of voters, requires supervisors to get two-thirds voter approval for certain major projects--including airports. Airport advocates have filed a lawsuit challenging the validity of the initiative.

Airport opponents headed to Washington this week to warn federal officials about conveying the base for reuse as an airport.

The entourage--comprising 11 South County officials--plans to argue that Measure F restricts the county from accepting the base for an airport unless the transfer first gets voter approval. They want the federal government to instead consider turning over the property with an “open-ended” reuse plan, so that anything could be built there.

Federal officials said they are willing to listen but their hands might be tied. An “open-ended” land conveyance isn’t possible under federal law, Gallegos said.

However, once the property is turned over to the county, it is up to the county to decide whether to continue with reuse plans or choose another course, Kane said.

If a court decides that because of Measure F the county cannot accept the property for an airport, “we’ll make a judgment call at the point we need to,” Kane said.

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El Toro Cleanup

A combination of sewage leaks, buried weaponry and jet fuel have left a toxic mess at the former El Toro air base. Where the problem areas are:

Source: Marine Corps