Brownfield

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As you drive north on Highway 96 on the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation what was once a contaminated lumber mill site is now a sea of lush vegetation. Reservation land reclamation is one of many efforts the Hoopa Valley Tribe is involved in to turn non-productive lands into productive uses. These activities are part of a national agenda that is being applied at the Reservation level in Hoopa. That national agenda is President Clinton’s Brownfield Initiative. Brownfields are abandoned, idled or under-used industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. Frequently, these properties, once the source of jobs and economic benefits to the entire community, lie abandoned for fear of the contamination and the liability it implies.

The Masonite Mill Creek site previously contained two underground storage tanks, which leaked and contaminated the surrounding soil with diesel fuel. In addition, pentachlorophenol, a toxic wood preservative contaminated the surrounding soils. It is suspected that the leak was roughly 10,000 gallons. The tanks have been removed and a 34 by 53-foot pit has been excavated 25 feet down to the hardpan. Approximately 1,700 cubic yards of diesel/pentachlorophenol contaminated soil have been removed and stockpiled adjacent to the pit and have been conditioned through exposure to the sun and by adding organic material to the point that the former contamination is no longer a threat. This process is called "in-situ land farming". The soil was conditioned and the land planted with vetch to add nutrients to the soil. The goal of this project is to create a Tribal agricultural lot of 25 acres that will provide alfalfa or related fodder crop to the Tribal agricultural interests in the Valley. Use of the Mill Creek property as an agricultural feedlot was chosen because of the dwindling agricultural lands on the Reservation that are available to Tribal Members. Since the property is in the floodplain, it is not appropriate for housing use.

Restoring contaminated property can help bring life and strength to a community. Making a once toxic area viable again means more jobs, an enhanced tax base and a sense of optimism about the future. EPA's Brownfields Initiative will make it easier for such sites to be redeveloped and become vital, functioning parts of their communities. The Hoopa Tribal Environmental Protection Agency (TEPA) was recently awarded funding from USEPA to implement the Cal-Pac Reclamation Project. The workplan is intended to redevelop the former Cal Pac Lumber Mill in Campbell Field and consists of five major objectives:

1. To discover and identify all hazardous substances involving both soil and groundwater at Cal Pac,
2. assess the public health and environmental risks, if any;
3. conduct public education activities;
4. develop an effective and affordable remedial design; and
5. clean-up and revitalize the Cal Pac property for redevelopment

Proposed development efforts involve a comprehensive development plan that will mix much needed affordable housing with industrial development and job creation. The Hoopa Valley Tribe is currently finalizing an industrial development strategy that will combine Tribal financial and natural resources with funds appropriated for Brownfield development from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) in community development and housing support and from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) for brownfields redevelopment in distressed areas. Under the Small Business Reauthorization Act of 1997, the Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation is applying to SBA for HUBZONE designation for the Cal-Pac site. This designation coupled with a partnership currently underway with Lawrence Livermore Laboratories could establish industrial development at the proposed site. Since the closure of the Cal-Pac Lumber mill in 1980, the affected area has been idle in both use and in the effect the property has on surrounding parcels. The 83.4 acre site has been the subject of several feasibility studies which were intended to redevelop the area as an industrial park. Due to the uncertainty of the environmental characteristics of the sites, development of the parcel has been difficult.

Click Here for the Cal-Pac Fact Sheet
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