Skeet-shooting range cleanup under way Skeet-shooting range cleanup under way (October 23, 2002)

The former Peninsula Sportmen's Club, a skeet-shooting range south of the Dumbarton Bridge in Menlo Park, is the subject of a $1.3 million cleanup and restoration effort under way this month.

The property, which belongs to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, is contaminated with lead shot and clay pigeon debris, as well as other trash, said Beverly Hennessy, spokeswoman for the SFPUC.

The commission leased the land to the gun club from 1934 to 1994, when the club went out of business. A cleanup plan for the site has been in the works for the past decade, she said. During the past two years, more than 2,000 cubic yards of clay pigeon debris and abandoned buildings were removed from the property.

Phase one of the cleanup effort, known as the Baylands Recovery Project, was scheduled to begin October 7 and is expected to last eight to 10 weeks. Up to 40 percent of the crew will be hired from the local labor pool through Project Build, she said.

The contractor, Engineering/Remediation Resources Group, is excavating, treating and disposing of the debris, using hand-operated and lightweight farm equipment to do the majority of the work, said Ms. Hennessy.

"We're delighted that the project is getting underway and we can contract with laborers from the community to accomplish this important cleanup and restoration effort," said Patricia Martel, the general manager of SFPUC.