Navy to hold public meeting on cleaning up old skeet range at Seal Beach base (2024)

Several endangered birds and a threatened beetle that call the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station home should soon have a healthier habitat thanks to a Department of the Navy plan to clean up an old skeet range on base once used for recreation by active-duty military personnel, their families and retirees.

The range, which is 23 acres and half inside the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, was identified as contaminated by the lead shot and clay targets used there in the 1960s and 1970s. Officials found the location during an overall review of the 5,000-acre base property in 2000. The range was shut down in the early 1990s.

The concern is that lead shot and other contaminants, such as antimony and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in the fragments of the clay targets, could be eaten by waterfowl that use the habitat, said Gregg Smith, spokesman for the Navy base. The 965-acre refuge includes a portion of Anaheim Bay and the nearby salt marsh.

“This is a site we’ve been working on for some time,” Smith said, adding that getting to this point has included gathering data on how much debris is there and what was the feasibility of getting the cleanup done. In 2022, the Navy conducted studies to determine the best options.

“We’re at the point to determine what is the best way to clean it up,” he said. “The next step is a proposed plan where the Navy picks alternatives.”

The plan to remove the debris is expected to cost more than $13.4 million and would likely not start before next summer. It would have to be coordinated around the endangered birds nesting cycles.

The project has won approval from local agencies that have a say in cleanup work, Smith said, and will now be presented to the public for input during an Aug. 15 meeting at Seal Beach library.

The effort is part of the Navy’s Environmental Restoration Program, managed by the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southwest in San Diego.

While the contaminants are not considered a concern to humans, primarily because few people have a reason to be on the land there, federal officials found the chemicals pose a risk to wildlife, especially waterfowl that either live on the base or travel through it.

Four alternatives, including a baseline plan to do nothing that is required by law, will be presented during the public meeting. Two of the options include various ways of digging up the site on the base’s south-central side, and the third looks at capping the site, Smith said.

One study found, however, that the latter could result in the loss of wetland habitat because it is uncertain whether the restored area would be of the same quality and able to provide the endangered species the same level of habitat that is currently present at the site.

The Navy’s preferred removal method would involve using amphibious construction vehicles, which would cause the least damage to the wetlands and their inhabitants, Smith said. Excavated soil and sediment would be tested and disposed of offsite at locations to be determined depending on the test results, he said.

Approximately 18,700 cubic yards of soil and sediment would need to be excavated for the project, Smith said.

The birds that use the preserve include the endangered least tern, the light-footed Ridgway’s rail, the Savannah sparrow and the threatened tiger beetle.

The public has until Aug. 31 to provide comments, and then the Navy will begin work on the plan’s formal design, and after that, it will put out a request for proposals, Smith said.

Smith said that while the participating public will not take a vote, public input has impacted previous projects.

“The public will get to see details and the extent of the contamination, why it’s a problem, and what the impact to wildlife is there at the site,” Smith said. “This will be one of the base’s largest cleanups in scope and cost.”

Originally Published: August 8, 2024 at 6:50 a.m.