To: Board of Supervisors
From: John Kopchik, Director, Conservation and Development
Report Title: Hookston Station Monitoring Investigations
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
RATIFY a license agreement dated September 21, 2024 between Alexandria Tucker, the owner of the real property located at 1202 Hookston Road in Concord (Property) and, the County, Union Pacific Railroad, Mary Lou Helix, Karen Hook, Debbie Hook, and Blake Pucell (Hookston Parties), allowing the Hookston Parties to enter the Property for the purpose of conducting indoor air and sub-slab soil vapor sampling pursuant to an order by the Regional Water Quality Control Board. (100% Successor Agency Funds).
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:
In 1992, the County, using Redevelopment Agency funds, acquired a portion of a former railroad right-of-way in the Hookston Station area of Pleasant Hill. The right-of-way was being acquired to preserve the former rail corridor for a future fixed guideway/transit use; for the Iron Horse Trail; and for a roadway connection between the Contra Costa Centre area and Monument Blvd. The roadway element has since been dropped from consideration as a planned roadway.
After the County’s acquisition of the right-of-way, chlorinated solvents (trichloroethylene) were determined to exist in the groundwater. Prior testing had not revealed their presence. The property is now part of an approximately 8-acre site that is the subject of (i) a settlement agreement between the County and the other Hookston Owners, and (ii) Order No. R2-2023-0015, issued by the Regional Water Quality Control Board (Order). As part of the Order, the Hookston Owners are required to conduct indoor air and sub-slab soil vapor sampling within some of the homes in a nearby condominium development, subject to permission being granted by the homeowners. The license that is the subject of this staff report grants the Hookston Parties access to one of the homes identified as a potential sampling site. The Hookston Parties were notified of this positive development on September 25, 2024, with a window of opportunity for conducting the testing the following week.
Under the terms of the license, the Hookston Parties were granted access to the homeowner’s property in exchange for agreeing to restore the property to its original condition.
The license agreement enabled the required investigation to proceed on the homeowner’s property. Completion and submittal of the vapor intrusion investigation report will comply with the Order.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
Not performing the monitoring of potential vapor intrusion as stipulated by the Order could lead to the imposition of a penalty by the Regional Water Quality Control Board.