CLEANUP PLANNED FOR SITE BY HOMES DEVELOPMENT EXPECTED TO GET COUNCIL APPROVAL.

Byline: Eugene Tong Staff Writer

SAUGUS - A cleanup plan is being drafted for a contaminated well near the site of Newhall Land's 1,100-home Riverpark project, just as the development is close to gaining city approval, officials said.

The Santa Clarita City Council is prepared to sign off Tuesday on the proposed 695-acre subdivision north of the Santa Clara River. The vote comes more than a month after the discovery of the rocket-fuel ingredient perchlorate in a well forced The Newhall Land and Farming Company to delay what may have been the project's final public hearing.

The Valencia Water Company well is located west of Bouquet Canyon Road and south of Newhall Ranch Road, just outside the project's boundary. Officials found in late March the well had perchlorate levels between 9.8 and 11 parts per billion - slightly above the 6 parts per billion allowed under state environmental guidelines.

The development sits north of the former Whittaker-Bermite munitions plant. The plant closed in 1987, but the site is polluted with several chemical compounds, which have migrated into area groundwater. Perchlorate from the plant has shut down several municipal wells that had levels of between 25 to 40 parts per billion. In high doses, the chemical can cause thyroid damage and cancer.

Newhall Land officials have said the well does not affect Riverpark as the subdivision will be served by a different utility - the Santa Clarita Water division of the Castaic Lake Water Agency. Valencia Water is owned by Newhall Land.

``This discovery has no affect on any conclusions for the final environmental impact report of Riverpark,'' said Marlee Lauffer, a Newhall Land spokeswoman.

The city planners agreed, concluding in a staff report the contamination ``does not rise to the level of 'significant new information''' to alter Riverpark's final environmental impact report. Also, there are no signs of perchlorate at four other wells located within or adjacent to the development, they said.

``The EIR has fully analyzed all impacts,'' said Jeff Hogan, a city planner.

If the City Council approves the development Tuesday, a second and final reading will be scheduled June 14.

An April study authorized by Valencia Water concluded that shutting down the contaminated well does not impact the utility's water supply, and recommended an ion exchange wellhead treatment to remove the perchlorate.

The procedure is consistent with cleanup plans already approved for the Whittaker-Bermite site, according to the report prepared by consulting engineers Luhdorff & Scalmanini. An application for the procedure has been submitted to the state Department of Health Services, Lauffer said.

Newhall Land has offered the city land and other concessions in return for permission to build Riverpark, including $24 million worth of right- of-way dedications and fees for the city's 8.5-mile east-west Cross Valley Connector road.

But critics have warned of the project's potential dangers, including environmental damage to the Santa Clara River.

Eugene Tong, [phone]

eugene.tong(at)dailynews.com

IF YOU GO

The Santa Clarita City Council meets Tuesday at City Hall, 23920 Valencia Blvd. Open session begins at 6 p.m.

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