To: Board of Supervisors
From: John Kopchik, Director, Conservation and Development
Report Title: Hookston Station Remediation Investigations
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
Ratify a license agreement dated August 18, 2025, between, on the one hand, Colony Park Town House Association and, on the other hand, the Hookston Station Parties, which include Union Pacific Railroad Company; Contra Costa County; and the Helix Family Trust allowing the installation of three monitoring wells located at Bancroft Road in the City of Concord.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The County's share of the cost of this license agreement is a Recognized Obligation of the former Redevelopment Agency and is included in the Recognized Obligation Payment Schedule (ROPS) submitted to the California Department of Finance annually. There is no impact on the General Fund.
BACKGROUND:
The County is a party to a settlement agreement that was entered into in 1997 to resolve a civil suit involving allegations of contamination of the soil, subsoil, surface water and groundwater on and emanating from the Hookston Station property, an approximately 8 acre site with commercial and light industrial businesses located at 228 Hookston Road. Under the settlement agreement, the Hookston Station Parties agreed to (i) cooperate in the remediation of certain chemicals from the property to meet the standards required by the lead agency overseeing the remediation, and (ii) share the cost of remediation.
The lead agency overseeing the remediation is the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (Water Board). The Hookston Station Parties are in the process of carrying out an order issued by the Water Board, with work being performed by ERM West (our consultant).
One of the tasks required under the Water Board’s order is the installation of monitoring wells within the City of Concord’s right of way, as authorized by the Board of Supervisors on March 28, 2025. This approval resulted in the installation of all but three of the monitoring wells. Due to conflicts with existing utilities, the locations of these three monitoring wells have been adjusted to the east and are now proposed to be installed within the private-owned parking area of the Colony Park Town House Association.
Under the terms of the license agreement, the Hookston Station Parties are granted access to the Colony Park Town House Association property in exchange for agreeing to restore the property to its original condition.
Staff recommend the Board ratify the Conservation and Development Director’s execution of the attached license agreement that satisfies a requirement in the Regional Water Quality Control Board’s Order.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If well installation and groundwater monitoring are not completed as stipulated by the Order, it could lead to the imposition of a penalty by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.