Will Lincoln missile site Restoration Advisory Board be formed? Applicants still haven't heard from USACE

To allow for more community outreach, the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) sent letters in February to 450 Sun City Hills residents about forming a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) for the remediation of the Lincoln Titan 1A Missile Silo Complex. However, interested Lincoln residents have not heard back regarding their applications. USACE's website says the due date for applications was March 17. According to Titan Missile Site Remediation Committee member Anne Constantin Birge and Sun City Hills resident, there was also a June application period. Birge has researched the missile site's contamination since August 2022. She has not only participated as a member of the committee, she has had direct contact with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board encouraging sooner remediation efforts. At a May 31 presentation, Birge suggested to USACE it would be useful if applicants received an email from USACE acknowledging their applications were received. Staff said they would send one for June applicants. Four months past the March period and about a month past the June period, she asks on a Nextdoor post, "Out of curiosity, how many of you received acknowledgment USACE received your application? How many heard if you've been selected, rejected or heard nothing from USACE?" As of Friday, she hadn't heard from anyone about whether they received an acknowledgment email. Sun City Hills resident Gary Frerking replied to Birge's post, "I showed interest some time ago and received nothing in return." Birge told Gold Mountain California News Media, "I still have hope that they will do an RAB … at least 50 people had an interest in the RAB. Whether they applied, I don't know." She fears USACE may be "hoping" for "waning interest" in the community regarding the missile site, saying, "We can't let our interest wane." According to USACE's website, "USACE is currently evaluating the feedback to determine the most appropriate community engagement path moving forward." Deputy Chief of Public Affairs for USACE Tyler Stalker told Gold Mountain News, "Our USACE Sacramento District Commander recently approved the establishment of a Restoration Advisory Board for our Titan 1-A cleanup effort and we are in the process of announcing it to the public. With approval to move forward with the RAB, we will now consult with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board and begin the process for convening a selection panel that will evaluate and determine our formal RAB participants...We look forward to sharing more details about the establishment of a Titan 1-A Restoration Advisory Board soon." Lincoln's former military site has seen progress in making a plan to mitigate the Sun City Hills residents' health risks from the "stew of alphabet chemicals," Birge said. However, some residents fear it is not progressing fast enough. The 46-acre Titan 1A missile silo complex at 401 Oak Tree Lane operated from 1962-65. The site is contaminated with degreasing solvent trichloroethylene (TCE) used for cleaning rocket and aviation parts, benzene, lead and xylenes, according to the California Water Boards, State Water Resources Control Board and Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board's public notice from November 2022. USACE discovered contaminants on the site in 1991 and began collecting soil samples in 1994 to "assess the extent of contamination," according to USACE. Between 2001 and 2004, USACE began extraction of the contaminants and, "Based on the results of that cleanup effort, further groundwater extraction and treatment was found to be technically and economically infeasible," the public notice said. According to the Central Valley Water Board's analysis of data from November 2022, "Current residents are not exposed to contaminated groundwater." However, the board determined in January this year that "a small portion of the plume with a low concentration" is under the edge of the church property on the southeast corner of Oak Tree Lane near the site, according to a previous Gold Mountain News article. Lincoln City Manager Sean Scully was the main speaker at a March 8 presentation regarding the missile site. He assured that Sun City residents weren't currently at risk from the site but also highlighted the danger of TCE entering the groundwater. Scully explained TCE evaporates slowly and remains for a long time, making it more difficult to remove. Many residents questioned the city of Lincoln at the March 8 presentation. Scully responded on behalf of the city, "For those asking what has the city done to help remediate the site, the city was not and is not responsible for the contamination of this site. It would be irresponsible of me as your city manager to spend your tax dollars locally on the cleanup of a site that is clearly a federal responsibility." However, "That doesn't mean we're not super interested in seeing this taken care of but I just wanted to be clear on that." The California Water Boards and USACE did not attend the March 8 presentation. Birge said, "Two days before the forum, staff from both agencies called to say they would not be attending as they had scheduling conflicts. That was kind of disturbing." Community members were upset about them not attending, with one resident saying, "The two people to blame didn't even bother to show up." Another community member agreed, saying, "I'm tired of talking about it. Get them in a room, sit them down, and get this done. Not next year, not next month, now." USACE also revealed in April it was conducting a remedial investigation and feasibility study set for completion in 2024, according to a previous Gold Mountain News article. At the April 25 Lincoln City Council meeting, USACE said in a presentation of its investigation schedule, "USACE is currently focused on completing the requisite studies to make a determination regarding the type and timing of mitigation strategies. It is too early to know when mitigation will be complete." Birge expressed concern over the 2024-25 estimate. "It should be easy to just bring proposals to us, conduct more tests, put in remediation barriers and a pump and treat facility to finally finish this 32-year long travesty," Birge said in a previous Gold Mountain News article. "Waiting until 2024 or 2025 or longer shows extreme disregard for the residents who need to be safe and secure in their homes." USACE had no definitive date as to when the cleanup would begin as of June. U.S. Army Corp of Engineers project manager Tim Crummett said at the May 31 presentation USACE "wants to do it right" in terms of the site's remediation. "They have a pretty good picture of what's going on."