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Residents press officials on chromium and airport contamination; city says chromium is naturally occurring and pursuing compliance
Summary
Public commenters raised concerns about chromium in drinking water and contamination at the Las Banos City Airport site; staff and the mayor said the airport site has documented contamination but that the city's deep municipal wells are separated from shallow contamination and that chromium-6 in the area is naturally occurring.
Several members of the public at the Sept. 3 Los Banos City Council meeting urged officials to provide more information and action on chromium in groundwater and environmental contamination at the Las Banos City Airport site.
Resident Carlos Flores told the council he and other community members are worried about chromium levels and broader contamination of land and water in the Central Valley. Flores questioned federal protections and asked the city to pursue accountability and remedies. The council then read into the public record a letter submitted by Julie Creighton that summarized public records indicating the Las Banos City Airport (CalEnviroScreen facility ID 24450001) ranks in the top 5% most environmentally burdened areas statewide and that Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) records show contamination in surface soils and shallow groundwater; the letter noted a DTSC/EPA preliminary assessment from April 2001 and that CalEnviroScreen lists the airport as “inactive, needs evaluation.”
Mayor and staff responded that the city acknowledges contamination at the airport site but clarified that the city's municipal water wells are much deeper — reported as on the order of 1,500 to 2,000 feet below surface and separated by an impermeable clay layer — and that contamination identified near the airport does not necessarily reach the deep aquifer that supplies city wells. Staff said the chromium-6 found in local groundwater is naturally occurring in the western mountains and that a change in the state's public-health criteria (from 50 parts per billion to 10 parts per billion) is what rendered some local supplies out of compliance; staff reported the city has been pursuing state assistance in Sacramento to obtain funding for treatment and compliance measures.
The letter author and public commenters asked for city records if the city has documentation contradicting DTSC findings; the clerk was invited to provide contact information for records. Staff reiterated the city is following the state's mandated compliance plan for chromium-6 and noted the city has not recorded municipal shutoffs and is pursuing funding to address water-treatment needs. No formal council action was taken on the airport contamination during this meeting; the matter was discussed during public forum and in correspondence the council received.
