Laserfiche WebLink
Councilwoman Buchan agreed with Mayor Greenalch's position and stated <br />that citizens expect accountability from the Council and the Council and <br />citizens have every right to expect accountability from the EPA. <br />Councilman Bury supported Mayor Greenalch's position and stated from the <br />onset of this process the major concern of the Council was for the current <br />residents of Redwood Shores and the EPA should not be allowed to do anything <br />that is not in the best interests of these residents. <br />Councilman Murray stated that during the entire evaluation process, starting <br />7 or 8 years ago, there has never been a suggestion of harm to the current <br />residents of Redwood Shores, nor is there today. Councilman Murray stated <br />he had talked with the EPA on Friday and was told the EPA is only <br />investigating the Westport site and no other area of Redwood Shores. <br />Councilman Murray advised that a request to the EPA for ranking at this <br />point is unnecessary as any site can be reranked at any time, and since new <br />knowledge of pollutants is constantly being discovered new standards are <br />constantly being set, and it is known that if it were ranked today it would <br />not qualify for Super Fund ranking under the present law, and writing a <br />letter will not answer the question of how it will rank when the new <br />standards come out. Councilman Murray stated he would not support writing <br />the letter as it was more a political act than a scientific question and <br />suggested that Council consider why McLaren allowed 100 times more <br />pollutants on the site in their evaluation than the EPA and no one has <br />suggested writing a letter to them. Councilman Murray stated he knew the <br />proposal was made in good will in an effort to calm people, but thinks it <br />will have the opposite effect. The EPA is willing to make a public <br />statement that the only site they are studying or will study is this one <br />former dump site and this statement should solve any questions the citizens <br />of Redwood City have about the site. <br />Mayor Greenalch advised that the City staff is finding out from McLaren <br />why there is a discrepancy between their statements and EPA's statements <br />about the EIR. Mayor Greenalch added that confusion was created by the EPA <br />introducing a new element, the hazardous ranking. He advised the letter <br />proposal is not done in a political sense, but because a government agency <br />created considerable concern in our community and it needs to take <br />responsibility for its actions. Living next door to a site that might <br />qualify for Super Fund ranking is a serious concern and the City needs to <br />address it. <br />Councilman Murray_ stated that receiving a ranking from the EPA will not <br />change anything, and if the EPA believes further studies are needed to <br />determine if health problems might exist, they should be done. Councilman <br />Murray is confident no health risks will be found and stated nothing heard <br />this evening supports the request to rush the EPA into ranking the site. <br />Economic or political reasons are not good enough nor the right reasons to <br />rush the EPA into a ranking that could be changed at any time in the future <br />when more knowledge is discovered about pollutants. <br />Reg.Mtg.Minutes <br />MINUTE BOOK NO. 49 1/22/90 <br />Page No. 197 Page 6 <br />