Chemical plant helps restore wetlands MARTINEZ: Dozens of agencies cleanup area that had suffered from years of mining pollution By Danielle Samaniego CONTRA COSTA TIMES Wednesday, July 19, 2006 Peyton Slough is all new, courtesy of a Martinez chemical plant. Local chemical plant Rhodia Inc. has completed its restoration of the slough -- a one-time toxic hot spot -- stretching more than a mile long, with curved banks and more than a half-mile of associated tributaries expected to attract shore birds to the wetlands now covering more than 200 acres. It will drain upstream wetlands while allowing potential tidal flow of salt water into the ecosystem. The cleanup is a culmination of efforts of more than two dozen local, state and federal agencies and tens of millions of dollars from property owner Rhodia Inc. Officials marked the completion Tuesday. "I think we're demonstrating our commitment to taking care of the problems here at the site professionally and conscientiously as we can," said Rhodia President Jim Harton. In 1999, the state ranked Peyton Slough as one of nine Bay Area toxic hot spots. In August 2001, the San Francisco Regional Water Quality Control Board ordered the cleanup after slough sediment studies found concentrations of copper as high as 180 times the state limit, and almost 18 times more zinc. The slough's contamination was not the work of Rhodia, but the company found itself responsible for paying for it. The pollution traces back to the early 1900s, when the Mountain Copper Co. smelted copper ore at the site until 1966. Piles of waste built up over the years and sank. Copper and zinc leaked into the groundwater, entered the slough and settled into the soil. "I don't think it's an issue of us being the owner; it's the issue of us being the responsible owner," Harton said. With the cleanup completed, company officials will monitor the slough over the next 10 years to make sure everything is going smoothly. Other participating agencies include the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and the Conservation and Development Commission, the California State Lands Commission, the California Department of Fish and Game, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other local, regional and state agencies. "It's been many years for us to bring it at this point," Harton said. "But one thing's for sure: Throughout the project, there's been a lot of cooperation between Rhodia and a lot of others, and I think that will continue over the next 10 years." Reach Danielle Samaniego at 925-943-8011 or dsamaniego@cctimes.com. http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/email/news/15071888.htm

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