CITY MAY HIRE ATTORNEY TO PRESS CLEANUP PROGRESS ON BERMITE SLOW.Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer SANTA CLARITA - The City Council will consider hiring an outside attorney this week in an attempt to spur the cleanup of the defunct Bermite explosives factory property. Councilman Bob Kellar asked that the item be placed on the agenda for Tuesday's meeting, and said new legal counsel would aid the city's push to rid 996 acres in the center of the city of dozens of toxins. ``This is a very complicated issue, with a number of competing interests,'' Kellar said. ``I've felt for sometime that someone with special expertise could help (the City Council and the staff) work through the myriad issues.'' Kellar said he is looking for Looking for In the context of general equities, this describing a buy interest in which a dealer is asked to offer stock, often involving a capital commitment. Antithesis of in touch with. an attorney with expertise in cleaning up ``brownfields'' that were polluted while being used for industrial purposes and then abandoned. ``We'll be looking for this person to put forth a plan that gets this property cleaned up,'' Kellar said. ``We can't ignore this problem.'' If approved by the council, the city will solicit proposals from qualified attorneys and then make a selection, according to Planning and Building Services Director Jeff Lambert. At the insistence of Kellar and Mayor Frank Ferry, Santa Clarita has assumed a leadership role in the multiagency push to rid the property of unexploded ordnance waste and about 40 toxic chemicals left behind after decades of Department of Defense contract work. If Kellar's proposal is approved by the City Council, the new attorney will play much the same role as attorney Greg Trimarche did before he was fired by the City Council in August, officials said. In a presentation to the City Council, Trimarche said that it would take a partnership between the owner of the polluted property and the city to restore the former munitions mu·ni·tion n. War materiel, especially weapons and ammunition. Often used in the plural. tr.v. mu·ni·tioned, mu·ni·tion·ing, mu·ni·tions To supply with munitions. factory. The City Council balked balk v. balked, balk·ing, balks v.intr. 1. To stop short and refuse to go on: The horse balked at the jump. 2. at such an agreement, with several council members saying that the potential liability was too great to get involved in the cleanup. However, since then, city officials have become increasingly concerned that the pollution of the area's groundwater is spreading, and they have taken on a more proactive role. Kellar has often said that the snail-like pace of the cleanup has been frustrating. ``This is a health and safety issue,'' Kellar said. ``Our water is at risk.'' The groundwater is contaminated contaminated, v 1. made radioactive by the addition of small quantities of radioactive material. 2. made contaminated by adding infective or radiographic materials. 3. an infective surface or object. with perchlorate perchlorate: see chlorate. , a rocket fuel propellant pro·pel·lant also pro·pel·lent n. 1. Something, such as an explosive charge or a rocket fuel, that propels or provides thrust. 2. that has been linked to thyroid disease thyroid disease Thyroid disorder Endocrinology Any benign or malignant condition that affects the structure or function of the thyroid gland. See Anaplastic carcinoma of thyroid, Chronic thyroiditis–Hashimoto's disease, Hyperthyroidism, Hypoparathyroidism, . Four municipal wells have already been shuttered because of the pollution, which may stem from the former munitions factory. Remediation Financial Inc. plans to build Porta Bella, a 2,911-home subdivision, a road network and parkland on the site once it is certified as clean by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control. However, RFI's local development arm, Santa Clarita LLC (Logical Link Control) See "LANs" under data link protocol. LLC - Logical Link Control , is out of cash. Company officials have said they are unable to make progress on the cleanup because city officials are unwilling to allow the site to developed in phases, as each section is certified as clean by the DTSC DTSC Department of Toxic Substances Control DTSC DARCOM Technical Steering Committee . ``We need to shift gears, and make certain we're doing everything we can to get this property cleaned up,'' Kellar said. |
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