Cleanup at El Toro Could Hit Taxpayers

Concerned county supervisors say Orange County taxpayers rather than the U.S. Navy would be forced to foot the bill for unexpected cleanup or litigation costs from toxic El Toro Marine Corps Air Station ground water, according to a proposed settlement.

Chairman Chuck Smith said he found such a proposal “totally unacceptable.”

Smith said, “I’m headed back to Washington to speak with the under secretary of the Navy and Department of Defense officials, and this will be one of the things I’m going to raise.”

But federal officials said there would be opportunity for public comment before a final decision, and water district officials said they were fighting to make sure the Navy would remain liable.

According to the proposed settlement, the Navy would pay $8 million of $35 million required to clean up a three-mile wide, tainted ground-water plume, and have no liability for future, unknown contaminants in the plume, which has spread under Irvine.

News of the proposal did not stop the State Lands Commission from voting 3-0 at a meeting in Los Angeles to turn over to the county authority to police the former air base. The decision moves the county a step closer to eventual ownership of the 4,700-acre former base and allows a handful of popular recreation programs, slated for closure July 1, to continue.

The commission had postponed the turnover last December because of environmental cleanup concerns. Gail Reavis, an outspoken Mission Viejo resident who attended the meeting, urged the commissioners to vote against the transfer, arguing for the Navy’s cleanup guarantee “now, upfront.”

But in a prepared statement, Lt. Gov. Cruz M. Bustamante said, “I am concerned that the Navy complete the necessary cleanup, but I voted for (the hand over) because of the progress made on this issue since December, and because of the support voiced by local government.”

Supervisor Todd Spitzer wrote a letter to the commission favoring the hand over, saying the board had authorized a consultant to conduct an environmental assessment of conditions at the former base. In addition, a legal consultant was hired to review the Navy’s environmental activities at El Toro to protect the county’s interests, he said.

But he acknowledged Tuesday that under the current proposal, the county could be held liable for future cleanup costs.

“We potentially will be the owners of that base. . . . We’re the ones the water districts may look to if the cleanup doesn’t work.”

A Navy spokesman denied that the military branch’s involvement in settlement negotiations with the Irvine Ranch Water District and Orange County Water District represented a change after repeated pledges to clean up the base.

“The Navy is not changing its policy with regards to the cleanup,” said Lt. William Speaks, a spokesman in Washington. However, Speaks said he was unable to reach ranking officials in charge of base environmental issues.

Representatives from both water districts said they want any proposed settlement to include the ability to reopen negotiations and reconsider the Navy’s cleanup responsibility.

“This provides a safety net for our customers,” said Marilyn Smith, an Irvine Ranch Water District spokeswoman. “The Navy will have continuing liability. They can’t just pay and walk away.”

The public will have input.

“Because public entities are involved in this, such as the water districts, there definitely will be opportunity . . to weigh in through public hearings,” said Christine Romano, a Justice Dept. spokeswoman.