CaseStudy:Topock Remediation Project

Sites of religious and cultural significance to several Indian tribes are at the core of Superfund environmental remediation consultations in the Topock Remediation Project. The Fort Mojave Indian Tribe considers the area where remediation will take place central to its religious beliefs. In addition to the Fort Mojave, all the consulting tribes see the entire Colorado River corridor as a place of cultural significance.

Details
The Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) Topock Remediation Project addresses the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA–commonly known as Superfund) cleanup of hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] in groundwater, and investigation and cleanup of associated contamination in soil.As part of the plant’s operation, heat is generated during the gas compression process, and the heat is removed with cooling water. The water, in turn, is cooled by the passage through cooling towers.

From 1951 to 1985, PG&E added Cr(VI)-based products to the cooling water to inhibit corrosion, minimize scale, and control biological growth in blowdown from the cooling towers (i.e., water that is routinely removed from the towers to prevent chemical buildup and scale formation). Blowdown was subsequently discharged into Bat Cave Wash near the Colorado River in San Bernardino County, California, and Mohave County, Arizona. A similar pollution case was the basis for the Oscar-winning film Erin Brockovich released in 2000. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is currently consulting with tribes about the investigation and cleanup options for the water and soil contamination and expects to conclude a Programmatic Agreement (PA) that may be in place for anywhere from 30 to 110 years while the CERCLA cleanup is implemented.After a number of abortive starts, BLM met with the consulting parties monthly from December 2009 to June 2010 to create the draft PA.

After a number of abortive starts, BLM met with the consulting parties monthly from December 2009 to June 2010 to create the draft PA. At the core of the consultations are sites of religious and cultural significance to several Indian tribes. In addition to a maze extending for acres that contains lines of gravel in the desert, the area is at the heart of the Fort Mojave Indian Tribe members’ beliefs on passage to the next life. Other consulting Indian tribes include the Chemhuevi Indian Tribe, Cocopah Tribe, Colorado River Indian Tribes, Fort Yuma Quechan Tribe, Havasupai Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians, and Yavapai-Prescott Indian Tribe. For these Indian tribes the area is not as central to their religious beliefs. However, they all see the entire Colorado River corridor as a place of cultural significance. While the remediation actions for water and soil are required under the CERCLA cleanup, finding a way to achieve this in the context of these sites of religious and cultural significance has been a challenge.

The consulting parties have faced other challenges in defining the area of potential effect, especially for indirect effects, and considering the larger landscape that has significance to the tribes. Other consulting parties include the Bureau of Reclamation, Fish and Wildlife Service, California and Arizona State Historic Preservation Officers, and PG&E. The ACHP became involved in the project in 2008.

The public comment period for several key remedy documents ends this summer, after which the Environmental Impact Report will be finalized. The BLM and consulting parties will continue work on the draft PA as needed. The Record of Decision is anticipated in November.