Between 1999 and 2001 benthic toxicity tests found PAHs and mercury levels at up to 507 mg/kg and 13 mg/kg respectively at this site and a 20-acre (81,000 m2) portion was designated as an area of concern (AOC).[3] The most contaminated, AOC is adjacent to the former wastewater outfall which has been relocated into San Pablo Bay.[3] A California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)-mandated mitigated negative declaration was completed and a corrective action plan was designed.[3] The plan included a natural resource damage assessment will cordon off the AOC with steel sheet piling and have the contaminated muds and sediment dredged and pumped into a disused treatment pond.[3] In that treatment pond the toxic waste would be dried and then neutralized with a stabilizing agent like fly ash or cement.[3] The inactive pond would then be regraded and capped with vegetation.[3] The remediation project was originally scheduled for the summer of 2007.[3] In 2010, the final plan was released[4] and Chevron reached an agreement to pay a 2.85 million settlement for the restoration.[5][6]
The funds were used to complete two restoration projects:
Cullinan Ranch Restoration - San Pablo Bay, California
- Approximately 1,500 acres diked bay lands were restored to mature tidal marsh. The area includes tidal channels, mudflats, and salt marsh habitat, which is managed by the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge.
Dotson Family Marsh Restoration - Richmond, California
- Previously called Breuner Marsh, the land was renamed in honor of Dotson family who were early advocates of preserving the area.[7] The project included restoration or enhancement of 150 acres of wetlands and coastal prairie. Public access was also provided via a raised boardwalk, which completes a previously unconnected 1.5-mile section in the San Francisco Bay Trail.[8]
