Menlo Park: Meetings on plan to clean up gun-club site Menlo Park: Meetings on plan to clean up gun-club site (February 13, 2002)

**Lead in soil could harm wildlife.

The plan to cleanup the contaminated site of an old gun club just south of the Dumbarton Bridge _ in Menlo Park, next to East Palo Alto _ will be presented at two public meetings, February 19 in East Palo Alto, and March 2 in Menlo Park.

Members of the public are invited to hear about the project, ask questions and offer comment. Spanish translators will be available at both meetings.

Trap and skeet shooting took place on parts of the 41-acre property for more than 50 years, when it was leased by the Peninsula Sportsmen's Club, according to the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission, which owns the property. Lead shot, clay pigeon debris, and shot gun shell casings remain there, as well as on an adjacent levee and salt pond.

Lead is the primary chemical of concern in the soil. According to the PUC, it doesn't present a serious human health risk unless eaten or inhaled, but it can harm wildlife.

A three-phase cleanup project, expected to begin this summer and continue through 2004, calls for excavating, treating and disposing of soil off-site.

The February 19 meeting is scheduled for 5 to 6:30 p.m. in the meeting room of the East Palo Alto City Hall, 2415 University Ave.

The March 2 meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. to noon at the Onetta Harris Community Center, 100 Terminal Ave., Menlo Park.

Project documents are available now for review at the East Palo Alto Library at 2415 University Ave., and the Menlo Park Library at 800 Alma St. The period for public comment lasts until March 13.

For more information, call Susan Carothers at (415) 554-0712.