Environmental Review

 

COMPREHENSIVE ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW AND MITIGATION

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a comprehensive review of a project’s environmental impacts, ranging from air quality, noise, historic resources, traffic, to hazardous materials. In compliance with the CEQA, an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) was prepared by the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency on the proposed Visitacion Valley Redevelopment Program, which includes the Railyard and Schlage Lock Factory sites and other portions of Visitacion Valley along Bayshore Boulevard and Leland Avenue. The Draft EIR was published for public review and comments on June 3, 2008.  Following a substantial public comment and response period, the EIR was certified by the Redevelopment Commission on December 16, 2008 and by the Planning Commission on December 18, 2008.  The EIR contains a list of mitigation measures that future developments in the Redevelopment Area will have to implement under supervision of the Redevelopment Agency or other City departments.

The Draft EIR and the Final EIR can be downloaded from the Redevelopment Agency website.

 

REMEDIATION OF SITE CONTAMINATION

The former Schlage Lock and UPRR sites are brownfield sites, which means they are contaminated with hazardous materials. More specifically, the soil and groundwater in the sites are contaminated with materials used in former operations on the properties. The most highly contaminated soils and groundwater are located in the southwestern portion of the site. Other areas of the site contain less contamination, especially areas that are upstream of the groundwater flow (i.e., areas to the north and west).  Since taking ownership of the sites, UPC has been conducting site investigations and treatment processes to understand and minimize the spread of the existing contamination.

Currently, UPC and its remediation team, including Brownfield Partners (BP PLT-I, LLC), are preparing plans and mobilizing for remediation of toxic soil and groundwater according to the standards established by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC), a state agency, which is responsible for regulating toxic substances that may affect public health. The Remedial Action Plan was approved on November 16, 2009, following a public review period that ended on Oct. 13, 2009. The remediation phase of the project site thus began, with contaminated soils treated on the sites, or removed and replaced with clean soil, and contaminated groundwater remediated, all before site development can proceed. 

Please check on Environmental Remediation page for updates on the site environmental remediation process.