SAN FRANCISCO—The Yosemite Slough, a polluted and muddy strip of land, is schedule to be cleaned and restored in the Bayview District.
A restoration plan was proposed in 2012. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency formalized their efforts in 2014.
The EPA’s Regional Administrator Jared Blumenfeld explained the agency would be pursuing money from companies who were responsible for the contamination at Yosemite Slough. The Yosemite Slough is roughly 1,600 feet in size and runs between Hunters Point and Candlestick Park.
The neglected piece of land was once apart of a larger marine based ecosystem. The land was home to wildlife and could sustain multiple species of plants and animals.
According to the EPA, the spacious land dwindled down to the slender slough between the 1940s and the 1960s.
After years of toxic waste from industrial facilities, trash, and debris, Yosemite Slough contains toxic PCBs and lead. The EPA has posted signs warning the public to stay out of the slough.
The EPA has reached settlements with various parties to begin the clean up process, which include Ashland, Inc., Coca-Cola North America, Exxon Mobil Corporation, InterState Oil Company, NL Industries, Inc., Occidental Chemical Corporation, Pennzoil-Quaker State Company, PPG Architectural Finishes, Inc., Redwood Oil Company, Inc., Textron, Inc., Tyco Electronic Corporation and Univer USA, Inc.
The federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, which is also known as the Superfund are being used by the EPA as a guide to cleanup the Yosemite Slough region.
One of the agencies’ first tasks is to remove the top layer of contaminated mud and replace it with clean sand. To learn more information about Yosemite Slough site visit: https://yosemite.epa.gov/r9/sfund/r9sfdocw.nsf/ViewByEPAID/CAN000908486.
Written By Totianna Weekly and Casey Jacobs
