05. Mt. UmunhumCity Hall
10300 Torre Avenue
Cupertino, CA 950143255
(408} 777-3212
FAX: (408} 777-3366
CUPERTlNO
PUBLIC AND ENVIRONMENTAL AFFAIRS
SUMIVrARY
Agenda Item No. '~ Meeting Date: June lb, 2009
SUBJECT
Authorize the mayor to sign a letter supporting Mt. Umunhum cleanup.
BACKGROUND
The former Almaden Air Force Station atop Mt. Umunhum was purchased by the Mid-
Peninsula Open Space District in 1986. The 48-acre property was incorporated into the
Sierra Azul Open Space Preserve. To date the area has had to remain closed to the public
due to the presence of toxic materials and hazardous physical conditions.
The City of Cupertino City Council has been asked by the Mid-Peninsula Open Space
District support efforts by regional and state congressional Ieaders to fund this Iong
overdue toxic cleanup.
LEGISLATIVE CO1v11VIITTEE RECOMME'sNDATION
Based on a-mail communications received from Mayor Mahoney and Councilmember
Wong in support, it is the recommendation of the Legislative Committee that the council
take a position in support of this effort and authorize the mayor to sign the attached letter.
Kitson,
Approved for submission to the
City Council:
LN"t.r-
David W. Knapp,
City Manager
Attachment A: General Support Letter for Almaden A.FS Cleanup Effort
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Public & Environmental Affairs Director
GENERAL SUPPORT LETTER FOR ALMADEN AFS CLEANUP EFFORT
April 23, 2008
The Honorable Michael M. Honda
United States House of Representatives
1713 Longworth House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congressman Honda:
On behalf of , I am writing to request that you take whatever steps are
necessary to direct the Department of Defense to accelerate the clean up of the former
Almaden Air Force Station (AFS) in Santa Clara County, California. The cleanup is
currently being carried out by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, under the Formerly
Used Defense Sites (FUDS) program, which has proven wholly inadequate.
In addition, I write to request your assistance in securing $4,040,000 in the Department of
Defense Appropriations Act, under Office of the Secretary of Defense, Office of
Economic Adjustment, for economic adjustment programs, including, infrastructure
assessments and feasibility studies, engineering activities, specialized environmental and
legal services, and, other activities necessary for the community to address issues that
continue to create a barrier to reuse of Almaden AFS.
More than 20 years after the District's purchase of lands that include the former Almaden
AFS atop Mt. Umunhum, near downtown San Jose, California, the Army Corps of
Engineers has proceeded with the promised cleanup at a painfully slow pace. This
inadequate response has allowed toxic materials on site to become an increasing danger
to public health and the environment by threatening to contaminate area potable water
supplies and negatively impacting endangered plants and animals. The lack of progress
at the abandoned site has also denied the citizens of our region over two decades of use.
In sharp contrast to the painfully slow pace of cleanup under the FUDS program, the
Defense Department, under congressional mandate, has made the cleanup of bases closed
under the Base Realignment and Closure {BRAG) program a high priority. The
Government Accountability Office (GAO} reported recently that the Department of
Defense has spent in excess of $10 billion on BRAG cleanups since 1988.
As a matter of long overdue equity, we, again, ask that you take whatever steps are
necessary to direct the Department of Defense to carry out the timely remediation of past
and current site conditions at Almaden AFS, including the remediation of petroleum
products, solvents, PCBs, friable asbestos, and deteriorating lead-based paint, as well as
structural safety issues arising from the two decades of deterioration occurring during the
administration of the property under the FUDS program.
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The cleanup of Almaden AFS will allow the District to
public access and proper management of tb~e Sierra Azul
the unique environmental characteristics of the sensitive
Redwoods areas, and eliminate the threat posed to publi
uncontained contaminants on former Almadf;n AFS.
Sincerely,
Sarne Letter to:
The Honorable Anna G. Eshoo
United States House of Representatives
205 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congresswoman Eshoo:
The Honorable Zoe Lofgren
United States House of Representatives
102 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
Dear Congresswoman Lofgren:
The Honorable Barbara Boxer
United States Senate
112 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20510
Dear Senator Boxer:
The Honorable Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Feinstein:
expedite plans to provide for
Open Space Preserve, protect
Sierra Azul and Bear Creek
c health and listed species by
A copy of your letter for our files would b~~ greatly appreciated:
Midpeninsuia Regional Open Space District
ATTN: Public Affairs Dept.
330 Distel Circle
Los Alto, CA 94022
FAX: (650) 691-0485
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