LOCKHEED MARTIN TO CLEAN UP SAN DIEGO BAY
Port of San Diego OKs $7M of work necessitated by decades of defense operations
Following extensive litigation and investigation, Lockheed Martin is expected to soon begin work on a stateordered — and court-mandated — environmental remediation project meant to clean up a portion of San Diego Bay’s Harbor Island East Basin that was subject to decades of pollution.
Last week, Port of San Diego commissioners voted unanimously to certify the project’s environmental impact report and to issue a coastal development permit for demolition work and sediment remediation.
The actions pave the way for the aerospace and defense firm to tear down its 54-year-old marine terminal building at 1160 Harbor Island Drive (across the street from the Sheraton San Diego Hotel & Marina) early next year. Shortly thereafter it will remove and replace sand in the basin contaminated by cancer-causing polychlorinated biphenyls and mercury.
The project, estimated to cost $7 million, will put to bed the port’s long-running environmental dispute with both Lockheed Martin and another former defense industry tenant, General Dynamics, and should ready the East Harbor Island area for redevelopment.
The project site, per a 2017 order from the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, includes the area of the East Basin where sediment has been contaminated by discharges from two neighboring facilities, a tow basin property first leased to General Dynamics in 1954 and a marine terminal erected by Lockheed Martin in 1966.
The San Diego Unified Port District, which owns the tideland areas in question on behalf of the public, initially sued the businesses in 2005
over the tow basin site, which was operated by General Dynamics and its subsidiary Convair until 1970. Lockheed Martin took over the facility in 1970 and used it, on and off, through 1991. The port alleged that operations, which included testing of model ships and oil spill recovery equipment in a concrete water tank, led to the release of hazardous substances in the bay.
The port also lodged a separate complaint in 2016 against Lockheed Martin for contaminating the bay at the marine terminal facility. The engineering facility, which includes a railway, pier and other structures, performed maintenance on Lockheed’s Deep Quest submarine. Lockheed ceased operations at the marine terminal in 2015, although its lease with the port is still active and termination is linked to completion of the cleanup project.
“Discharges of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), metals, and other pollutant wastes to San Diego Bay throughout the years have resulted in the accumulation of contaminants in marine sediments along the north shore of central San Diego Bay,” according to the April 2017 Cleanup and Abatement Order issued by the water control board.
A 2017 settlement agreement between the port, General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin outlines the roles each must take to comply with the regulatory mandate. Per the contract, Lockheed Martin is responsible for funding and implementing all of the demolition and sediment remediation work, with General Dynamics on the hook for $850,000 in costs. The port is required to waive Lockheed’s rent payments during the cleanup and cannot request reimbursement from the defense firms for actions related to the state order.
With the port vote, Lockheed will seek approvals from other agencies, including the city and the water control board. It is anticipated to begin demolition of land structures in the first quarter of 2021, with dredging of contaminated sediment to follow. The project is expected to be completed in three phases and take around five months. The final phase should see the area returned to undeveloped conditions.
The port has for years sought to redevelop East Harbor Island with hotels, parks and water attractions, although no projects have been approved. Sunroad Enterprises has proposed a 450-room, dual-branded hotel for a parcel adjacent to its marina. Sunroad President Uri Feldman told port commissioners last week that the environmental analysis for the Lockheed Martin cleanup project was insufficient, as the project does not remediate the entire water portion that was found to be contaminated. The developer, in a comment letter submitted by its law firm, said it would not accept liability for any unmitigated damage.