City Council Unanimously Approves Settlement Agreement with BP/ARCO

Sewer project controversy resolved – Projected costs of 1 million reduced to $55,000 !

Seal Beach, May 11, 2010- Establishing financial responsibility for contaminated soil cleanup at the intersection of Seal Beach Blvd. and Lampson Avenue has enabled the City of Seal Beach to reach an agreement with BP/ARCO.  The main points of the agreement hinged on a willingness of the City and BP/ARCO to quickly and amicably delineate which aspects of the project were the city’s duty, and which were BP/ARCO’s.

Said Seal Beach City Manager David Carmany “when we first discussed the problem with representatives of BP/ARCO, about the only thing we knew for sure was that the city’s public works project had an open bore hole with the odor of gasoline”.  The city was tunneling underneath Seal Beach Blvd to install a new sewer line.  BP/ARCO worked closely with the City to review historic construction records, and to develop a proper cleanup plan.  The contaminated soil was segregated and trucked to a class I landfill in Adelanto.
 
“When we first started this process, we identified several objectives of our efforts to protect public health and the environment. With this agreement and some key construction strategies that resulted from the city’s efforts, we have accomplished our objectives,” said Seal Beach Mayor David Sloan, speaking for the City Council. “We can now redirect our resources, time and money to other capital projects and other initiatives to improve the quality of life for our residents. We remain committed to protecting the environment and have been pleased with the cooperation of BP/ARCO. We have laid the groundwork for future actions to collectively promote the interests of Seal Beach residents.”
 
To put the agreement’s financial implications into perspective, the City of Seal Beach operates on an annual General Fund budget of $26 million dollars.  The additional expenditures for environmental cleanup of nearly one million dollars were quite significant for the city.  The public works project was immediately stopped until a cleanup plan could be devised.  

“I am extremely proud the way our public works staff handled this.  Their normal project management attention was suddenly diverted to an arena rich in regulatory overview, and they stepped up.  Especially, I’d like to compliment our City Engineering staff and especially Associate Civil Engineer David Spitz.  With these projects, the devil’s in the details.  They did their jobs well. Because of their can-do attitudes and meticulous record-keeping, the city was able to quite clearly make its case to BP/ARCO”.  Under the terms of the settlement, the taxpayers of Seal Beach will be reimbursed $945,000 for additional necessary project costs.
 
“The Chamber of Commerce is proud of the efforts of the city and a major corporation to quickly and amicably resolve a major problem. The efforts of the City have heightened awareness about the value residents place upon the environment as a resource,” said Seth Eaker, President of the Seal Beach Chamber of Commerce. “The Chamber believes the settlement agreement enhances the community’s environmental enforcement and cleanup capacities.”
 
Beyond proper soil cleanup, the City also needed to comply with a number of safety measures on the job including fresh air import, worker safety, and confined space rescue contingency plans.  The settlement addresses the primary concerns that began with discussion between the City Manager and BP/ARCO representatives and led to the city providing additional safety protections beyond those included in the original project contract and scope.  It also demonstrates the parties’ ability to resolve the issue at the local level without further involvement by outside regulatory agencies or the judicial system.
 
“This bodes well for the ability of Seal Beach and BP/ARCO to resolve other major community issues in the future,” said City Manager David Carmany. “Through the settlement agreement we have defined these efforts and demonstrated we will continue to be aggressive in protecting public health.”  “We are pleased to be able to reach this agreement,” said Seal Beach Mayor David Sloan. “I am proud of the steps that have been taken by our city to protect the environment and we will continue to work to protect the integrity of the community.”
 
 For further information:
   Mayor David Sloan – (562) 431-2527, ext. 1303
   City Manager David Carmany – (562) 431-2527, ext. 1300 or by email: dcarmany@ci.seal-beach.ca.us