United Heckathorn Superfund Site
Levin Richmond Terminal (Levin) was not the cause of the contamination at the United Heckathorn Superfund Site
The contamination of the property was caused by prior owners and operators between 1947 to 1966. The Heckathorn facility closed in 1970. See Fact Sheet: Community Update (U.S. EPA, June 1, 2024).(1) Levin did not purchase the property until 1981.
Levin has cooperated fully with U.S. EPA requirements for remediation and monitoring
Since the 1990s, the U.S. EPA has been coordinating with Levin and other potentially responsible parties, including the prior owners and operators, to implement remedial measures. With U.S. EPA oversight, Levin completed excavation of contamination and capping of the upland area of the Site in the late 1990s. Levin has been conducting monitoring, maintenance, and annual reporting on the upland cap area since that time.
The upland area of the United Heckathorn Superfund Site “is protective of human health and the environment”
The U.S. EPA has repeatedly found that “The remedy at the upland area of the United Heckathorn Superfund Site is protective of human health and the environment. Capping of contaminated soil has eliminated human exposure pathways and prevented erosion. Routine inspection and monitoring assure the protectiveness of the upland remedy at the Site.” See Fifth Five-Year Review Report for the United Heckathorn Superfund Site, Contra Costa County, California (U.S. EPA, September 23, 2021).(2)
Status of the Lauritzen Channel marine area
A different potentially responsible party performed marine remedial actions in the 1990s to address contamination in the Lauritzen Channel. The U.S. EPA has found that the remedy for the marine area is not protective of human health and the environment, and has indicated that it will issue a Proposed Plan and Focused Feasibility Study specifying additional remedial and source control measures. See Fifth Five-Year Review Report, referenced above; see also the U.S. EPA Region 9 website, United Heckathorn Superfund Site, Cleanup Progress.(3)
Additional information relating to the United Heckathorn Superfund Site can be found on the U.S. EPA Region 9 website.
(1) https://semspub.epa.gov/work/09/100036999.pdf
(3) https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.schedule&id=0902440