Concerned Citizen - Vallco impact on groundwater issues

From: Liang C

Date: Mon, Nov 16, 2015 at 4:56 PM
Subject: Comment on Vallco EIR: Ground water issues.
To: "City of Cupertino Planning Dept." <planning@cupertino.org>

RE: Comment on Vallco EIR.

Here are comments from a concerned citizen:

The building right next to JCP had a semiconductor manufacturing facility in it in the 70s.   There was groundwater contamination from that original Four-Phase facility.  Reference the California Regional Water Quality Control Board File Number 43S1129 (RWP).  It is known as the 19333 Vallco Parkway site.  APN 316-20-076 is one of the parcel that this site is on.  It is immediately to the east of the JCP site in the Vallco Mall.

Here is the Sate Water Resources Control Board entry for this site:

http://geotracker.waterboards.ca.gov/profile_report.asp?global_id=T10000000740

The Apple 2 EIR addressed the problem of ground water contamination, and specifically mentioned the 19333 Vallco Parkway site along with many other sites in the vicinity of its project.

https://s3.amazonaws.com/Apple-Campus2-DEIR/Apple_Campus_2_Project_EIR_Public_Review_5h-Hazards.pdf

Of particular concern are the restrictions placed on the 19333 Vallco Parkway site by the State Water Resources Control Board.  Schools for persons under 21 are prohibited.  Residence use is prohibited.  The list goes on and on.

Sand Hill Property Company intends to place two underground floors of parking right next to the 19333 Vallco Parkway site.  The 19333 Vallco Parkway site cannot be used for residential housing or for schools.  If a flume from the 19333 Vallco Parkway site were found in the area planed for excavation for a parking garage, the site would perhaps not be considered suitable for the proposed FUHSD technology center.

The EIR should detail how testing for any contamination that may have seeped from nearby contaminated sites known to the State Water Resources Control Board (and other government agencies) will be performed.  It should also characterize the possible spectrum of mitigation measures that could be employed if contamination were found at various levels.  There should also be a discussion on which existing land use restrictions that apply to the 19333 Vallco Parkway site could reasonably be applied to the proposed Vallco development in the event that contamination were discovered.