State Closes Environmental Issues of York Blvd. Park Site

A notice of closure issued by the California Environmental Protection Agency in February 0f 2011 states that, despite trace elements of gasoline remaining in the soil, the empty lot at the corner of York Boulevard and Ave. 50 does not pose a threat to the public.

The report states that all four underground storage tanks at the former site of Steve's gas station were removed in 1999 and that 4,607 tons of soil were extracted from beneath the location of the pump islands in 2001. In 2009, another 103 tons of soil were removed from the site.

According the report, other cleanup efforts included the removal of 610 gallons of gasoline from the soil in 1982.

The report states that the primary remaining concern is the continued presence of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) in the soil, at about 82 micrograms per liter, as reported by a monitoring well installed at the site in 2002.

According to the California Department of Public Health, the maximum acceptable contamination level for MTBE for drinking water is 13 micrograms per liter.

However, the report states that even though MTBE levels were above the state's assigned maximum contamination level as recently as July 2010, those levels have been steadily falling since 2009, and have not been detected by any wells located deeper in the groundwater supply.

"The residual soil and groundwater contamination are unlikely to cause human health and environmental risk via major pathways, such as direct contact, drinking water ingestion and vapor intrusion" the report states.

Steve Rasmussen-Cancian of Living Street's L.A.--who is coordinating the design process for a public park at the lot on behalf of Councilman Jose Huizar's office--said Living Streets will go above and beyond the law in further mitigating environmental concerns in the construction of the park.