Below is a link to the six-minute presentation by April Squires and I to the Alameda's City Council on our concerns about the October toxic spill. Our presentation begins about 6:28 into the clip.
We also supplied a .pdf file containing my photo essay and a Powerpoint file with many other details. This file is available free upon request.
With this formal presentation, the city staff and council members are on record as having been duly and thoroughly informed of a serious environmental threat affecting not just a few hundred birds, but the community served by the council and the entire Bay Area populace whose lives are potentially affected by toxic emissions into our delicate ecosystem.
Below is a full transcript of our six minute presentation:
ALAMEDA CITY COUNCIL MEETING
APRIL 7, 2015
Section 1 - Comments by April B. Squires
Around 4 o'clock on
the afternoon of October 12, 2014, I watched a floating expanse of
grayish-brown sludge enter San Leandro Bay from the direction of Alameda's Otis
Street Bridge. The plume moved slowly and curled around the eastern tip of
Alameda Island, then entered the Oakland-Alameda Estuary. Mr. Heying and I
continued watching, following the plume from a footpath on the Oakland side of
the estuary. Around 5:30PM we observed the plume from directly above on the
Fruitvale Bridge.
By that time the plume
extended from San Leandro Bay westward past the Park Street bridge. It
was greyish-brown and had a thick, gel-like, almost foamy consistency unlike
anything I had ever seen. The plume was about fifteen feet wide and maybe 20 foot
long segments, imbedded with some clumps of grass with roots attached and other
debris, including straws, paper cups and pieces of wood. There were occasional
breaks in the plume where there was a thin oily sheen.
Around 6 PM Mr. Heying
borrowed my cell phone and called 911. I listened as he was first connected
with CHP, then the Alameda Fire Department. I heard him describe the sludge and
tell the other party that he would remain in the area at the Nob Hill parking
lot and be available by cell phone if he was needed. I heard him give his cell
phone number so he could be contacted. Mr. Heying told me, "They said they
would send a truck.”
Because it was getting
dark and cold, Mr. Heying and I had coffee at Peet's at Nob Hill Grocery,
sitting where we could see the Fruitvale Bridge, expecting to hear a siren.
After about an hour, when there was no siren or fire truck, I left and Mr.
Heying said he would return to the bridge and try again.
Issues
that concern me going forward:
- The insufficient response resulting from two 911
calls. I learned that it is likely that response is inadequate
because there is no protocol in place for first-responders in pollution
cases that are not petroleum-based.
- That the City of Alameda should establish its own
protocol to protect the marine life we all enjoy as well as public safety
of residents and visitors who enjoy the beaches. The mayor should
create a commission and a citizen advisory committee.
- That the proposed SB 718 by California state senators
Mark Leno and Lori Hancock delineates procedures to report pollution
events, identify causes, hold accountable polluters and create and promote
citizen reporting and involvement. The mayor should ensure that the
City’s protocol is integrated with the senate bill.
Section 2 - Comments by Monty J Heying
I investigated the
plume that Ms. Squires and I observed, and here some of my facts and
conclusions.
Facts:
- Alameda's
finger lagoons underwent extensive dredging during the first two weeks of
October, 2014.
- Dredging
solids from these lagoons were dumped in a toxic "hot spot" at
Alameda Point, and the residual liquids were released through the lagoon
portal into San Francisco Bay.
- Two
months later a "Grey Mystery Goo" killed and injured hundreds of
seabirds along the shores of Alameda, San Leandro and Hayward, and a bird
rescue non-profit's budget has been drained.
- Chemical
analysis by Cal Fish and Wildlife has not ruled out lagoon dredgings as
the source of the Mystery Goo.*
- Cal
Fish and Wildlife took samples from near the lagoon portal to test and
compare with the Mystery Goo.
- I
saw an employee of Clean Lakes, Inc.* taking a lagoon water sample.
- Per
their web site, Clean Lakes uses toxic agricultural chemicals to
"clarify" inland waterways. One such product is “…absorbed and
trans-located by aquatic plant foliage, interfering with plant
metabolism." Another is "…a contact herbicide effective against
a broad range of aquatic plants." Clean Lakes also uses surfactants,
which are chemical compounds that can emulsify dissolved and undissolved
solids and render them floatable. (Image 1kc)
- Degradation
of marine habitat near the lagoon portal is evident. (Images
1y & 1zz)
- Here
is a photo showing a foaming agent, a possible surfactant, in the lagoons.
Notice the grey fringe where the white foam meets the water as if a
chemical change is taking place. (Image 1kc)
*Rinderneck
quote: "... silicone fluids, tung oils, resins or rosin
oils, animal fats, and edible or inedible seed oils from plants"
Conclusions:
- The timing,
flow direction and content of the October sludge plume are consistent with
Alameda's lagoon dredging and the Mystery Goo.
- Additional
sampling and analysis are required to prove linkage between the Goo and the
lagoons.
- Further
investigation is needed to determine the extent of environmental damage
and the risk of relying on toxic
chemicals to maintain the aging finger lagoons.
- We
need further study to determine the extent to which a new era of
catastrophic environmental risk to the marine ecosystem of San Leandro Bay
has been brought about by changes in tidal currents due to drought-related
sediment build-up.
# # #
*Clean Lakes, Inc.'s web site.
ARI is another company specializing in inland waterway clarification: ARI's web site
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