City of San Francisco and Navy Sign Master Plan for the Cleanup and Revitalization of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard

City of San Francisco and Navy Sign Master Plan for the
Cleanup and Revitalization of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard
January 23, 2002

Washington, DC - At a Capitol Hill ceremony today, San Francisco Mayor Willie L. Brown, Jr. and Secretary of the Navy Gordon England signed a master plan for the cleanup and revitalization of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, as required by legislation sponsored by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) last year.

As part of the FY '02 Military Construction appropriations bill, Senator Feinstein secured $50.6 million for the cleanup of the Shipyard. The Navy was also required to provide Congress a master plan, with input from the City and the Community, for the full cleanup of Hunters Point.

"First, I would like to acknowledge the efforts of Secretary of the Navy,Gordon England and San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown for working with the community to develop the agreement which will be signed in just a few minutes. Thanks also go to Senator Barbara Boxer, Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi, and EPA Administrator Christine Whitman whose support was needed to make this agreement a reality and whose vigilance will be needed to ensure that the plan is carried out successfully.

Essentially, this agreement is a Master Plan for the revitalization of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard, which will ensure that the base can now be cleaned up and turned over to the City and an expeditious manner.

This means new jobs and new housing for the people of Hunters Point, and an end to the bickering that has gone on for a quarter of a century. I am hopeful that we can transform this former Naval Shipyard -- that suffered from severe environmental contamination and an underground toxic fire -- into a vibrant, vital part of the Hunters Point community.

Hunters Point Naval Shipyard has been a point of contention for more than 25 years, with all sides fighting over the level of contamination at the base and who will pay for cleanup. I am pleased to report that over the past year, the funding issue has been resolved, which has helped move the rest of the process forward.

As chair of the Military Construction Appropriations Subcommittee, I was able to include $50.6 million dollars in the FY' 02 MilCon appropriations bill for the cleanup of the Shipyard. This includes sufficient funding to complete the cleanup of Parcel B, to continue the cleanup of Parcels C and D, and to initiate site characterization of Parcels E and F in fiscal year 2002.

Furthermore, we included language in the bill requiring the Navy to present this Master Plan to Congress -- with input and agreement from the City and the community -- to ensure that the process does not stall as it has in the past.

The Navy will also be required to provide the Committee with a semi-annual progress report on how the remediation process is going.

Through these provisions and the agreement that will be signed today, we have ensured that the funds Congress has appropriated will be spent in a way that benefits the community and provides for the remediation of a significant portion of Hunters Point.

But more importantly, this agreement sets forth a process for making sure that the remaining parcels of land are cleaned up in a way that satisfies both the City and the Navy. Indeed, the agreement being signed today represents the formation of a true partnership between the City, the Community, the Navy, and the Developer to cleanup and revitalize Hunters Point Naval Shipyard."

The agreement contains provisions for the conveyance of an 88-acre parcel of land (Parcel A) to the City -- which has been certified by the regulatory agencies as "clean" -- immediately upon Board of Supervisors approval of the comprehensive Conveyance Agreement based on this Implementation Plan. (Board action is scheduled for June)
It also includes a commitment from the Navy to address the status of Parcel E (particularly the landfill) in partnership with the City and community. This is a major concern and commitment for the community.
Furthermore, the agreement includes a commitment from all the parties to follow a specified process for reaching agreement on the conveyance for all remaining parcels of land:

1. The parties agree to commence Early Transfer negotiations for a given Parcel at the point in the CERCLA process that the environmental remedy has been selected (referred to as the CERCLA Record of Decision (ROD) stage).

2. At the issuance of the draft ROD, the parties have 90 days to reach agreement on the amount of funding necessary for the City to take over cleanup under Early Transfer.

If agreement can be reached, the City and the Navy will execute an Environmental Services Cooperative Agreement (ESCA) that will include all funding necessary for the City to complete cleanup of the subject Parcel.

If the parties cannot agree on price for the cleanup of a Parcel, the Navy will issue and fund a contract with a remediation contractor to complete cleanup at specific cleanup standards set forth in the MOA. Under this scenario, the Navy would transfer the Parcel to the City "clean."

Consistent with the November 2000 MOA, the Navy will continue to provide Protection and Maintenance (P&M) services until Parcels B, C and D are transferred in their entirety.