Several endangered birds and an endangered beetle native to the Seal Beach Naval Weapons Station may soon have a healthier habitat, thanks to a Department of the Navy plan to clean up an old skeet shooting range on the base that was formerly used for recreation by active military members, their families and retirees.
The range, which covers 23 acres and is half within the Seal Beach National Wildlife Refuge, was found to be contaminated by lead shot and clay pigeons used there in the 1960s and 1970s. Officials discovered the site during a comprehensive survey of the 5,000-acre site in 2000. The range was closed in the early 1990s.
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The concern is that lead shot and other contaminants such as antimony and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons found in the clay pigeon fragments could be eaten by waterfowl that use the habitat, said Gregg Smith, spokesman for the naval base. The 965-acre sanctuary includes part of Anaheim Bay and the nearby salt marsh.
“We’ve been working on this site for some time,” Smith said, adding that to this point, we’ve collected data on how much debris is there and how feasible the cleanup is. In 2022, the Navy conducted studies to determine the best options.
“We’re at the point where we have to decide how best to eliminate this,” he said. “The next step is a proposed plan where the Navy selects alternatives.”
The plan to remove the debris is expected to cost more than $13.4 million and likely won’t begin until next summer. It would need to be coordinated with the nesting cycles of the endangered birds.
The project has received approval from local officials who have a say in the cleanup, Smith said, and will now be presented to the public for comment at a meeting on Aug. 15 at the Seal Beach library.
The effort is part of the Navy’s Environmental Restoration Program, led by the Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Southwest in San Diego.
While the contaminants do not pose a problem for humans (especially since hardly anyone is supposed to be on the site), federal officials concluded that the chemicals pose a danger to wildlife, particularly the waterfowl that either live on the base or pass through it.
Four alternatives will be presented during the public meeting, including a base plan that calls for doing nothing of what is required by law. Two of the options include various ways to excavate the site on the south-central side of the base, and the third calls for covering the site, Smith said.
However, according to a study, the latter could lead to the loss of wetland habitats, as it is not clear whether the restored area could be of the same quality and provide the same habitat to endangered species as it currently exists.
The Navy’s preferred method of removing the debris would be to use amphibious vehicles, which would cause the least damage to the wetlands and their inhabitants, Smith said. Excavated soil and sediment would be tested and disposed of in locations yet to be determined depending on the test results, he said.
Exactly how much will need to be excavated is still unclear, but that calculation will be one of the next steps in determining the final plan, Smith said.
Birds that use the reserve include the endangered little tern, the fleet-footed Ridgway’s rail, the Savannah sparrow and the threatened tiger beetle.
The public has until Aug. 31 to comment, when the Navy will begin developing the formal draft of the plan and then issue a request for proposals, Smith said.
Smith said that while there will be no vote among the participating public, public opinion has influenced previous projects.
“The public will learn the details and extent of the contamination, why it is a problem and the impact it is having on local wildlife,” Smith said. “This will be one of the most extensive and costly cleanups ever at the base.”
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