CLEANUP CREW, PART II BERMITE DECONTAMINATION CONTINUES.

Byline: Heather MacDonald Staff Writer

SAUGUS - State officials have begun preparations to clean up the next section of the former Bermite munitions factory.

The state Department of Toxic Substances Control already has determined that the second section of the 1,000-acre property is the most contaminated and will require the most cleanup.

The Santa Clarita City Council has tentatively approved Porta Bella, a 2,900-home development on the property off Soledad Canyon Road. A major section of the city's proposed central road network, including Golden Valley Road, Santa Clarita Parkway and the Via Princessa/Magic Mountain Parkway extension, traverses the property.

State DTSC officials have signed off on a work plan for the second of six sections of the property, which will allow them to begin to identify in detail the areas of contamination, said John Naginis, a DTSC engineering geologist.

After the work plan is complete, a remediation plan will be drafted and ultimately implemented, Naginis said. That is expected to take at least a year, he added.

Early next year, the City Council will consider a request from the property developer, Santa Clarita LLC, to allow development of each section of the site as soon as it is cleared by the DTSC. The city's original development agreement required the entire site to be cleaned before grading and building could begin.

Many members of the advisory group and the community are opposed to phased development.

The advisory group toured the site Thursday morning, after a brief update from officials from the DTSC and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

Group members had expressed concerns at earlier meetings that the emissions from the catalytic oxidizer were toxic, prompting further study of the air quality on the site.

The oxidizer, which extracts chemical vapors from the soil and vacuums them through a furnace, is operating well within permitted limits, said Laurance B. Israel, an inspector with the AQMD.

The effectiveness of the oxidizer is also being studied to determine whether it is still necessary, said Alan Berg, the site restoration manager.

The City Council will hold a study session Nov. 29 to examine the city's liability in case the development stops short of completion. The council also will discuss the complicated process of cleaning the site's groundwater.

Tests have shown that several wells on the site are contaminated with perchlorate, a byproduct of rocket fuel that has been linked to thyroid disorders. It was used in the production of munitions on the site, long before current environmental regulations were put in place.

The pollution caused four wells to be shut down last year. They all drew from the massive Saugus Aquifer, which provides water to the Santa Clarita Valley during drought years.

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4 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Using an aerial view, site restoration director Alan Berg explains plans for the former Bermite munition property Thursday.

(2 -- color) A property marker, right, signals a boundary of the 1,000-acre Bermite property, an undeveloped swath of land tainted by toxic material.

(3 -- 4) Engineer Sheila Logan explains the Porta Bella development to members of a community advisory board during a tour of the Bermite property Thursday, above. At left, a well monitor tracks the presence of harmful chemicals in the former munitions site's groundwater.

David R. Crane/Staff Photographer