Newsletter/Bulletin August, 2010

August Bulletin for Members, Walkers & Runners

Save Strawberry Canyon (SSC) has been VERY busy. Sorry for the absence of bulletins re: LBNL's proposed development of 1 million gross sq. ft. of research labs, etc., on the hillsides and canyons. Thanks to the broad support of so many, SSC has participated in bold efforts to ensure that no development has happened yet!

Update:

In litigation: BELLA (Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator), an "experimental facility" — proposed to generate 10 billion electron volts, on an unstable slide area in Blackberry Canyon. SSC filed in federal court on February 25th, Save Strawberry Canyon v. Department of Energy, alleging inadequate environmental (NEPA) review. To be heard before Judge Vaughn Walker, date not yet set.

UC Regents approved the Seismic Life-Safety, Modernization, and Replacement of General Purpose Buildings, Phase II. This project consists of a new 43,000-gsf office and lab building (General Purpose Laboratory) in Blackberry Canyon above Cyclotron Drive and stabilization (possible?) of the Hazardous Waste Handling Facility in Strawberry Canyon, above the Botanical Garden. This Project was approved by the Department of Energy within 4 days! This unnaturally speedy review is alarming, but not surprising given that large amounts of Federal Stimulus Monies - ARRA - are flowing into the LBNL coffers. But isn't this all the more reason to act with responsibility? There was little response to concerns and comments expressed by local citizens (at least 15 comments were submitted) in the NEPA FONSI (Finding of NO Significant Impact) which was issued: See www.lbl.gov/Community/SeismicPhase2B/index.html for copies of the Final Environmental Assessment -- see Appendix D for responses to public comments (scroll down to the section headed "National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)").

SSC is poised to litigate, continuing to advocate viable alternative site development, considering that:

The hillsides and canyons are a major natural resource forming the bountiful Strawberry Creek watershed and a significant ecological and visual resource linking the East Bay Regional Parks to the great panorama of the San Francisco Bay.
LBNL's WWII/Cold War campus sits atop the unstable soils of a collapsed caldera (the north western edge of Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve) formed some 10 million years ago by volcanic action.
The hillsides are a reservoir of unknown stored water deposits and traveling plumes — the extent to which this water is contaminated and its true depth remains a mystery.
LBNL is straddled on its eastern edge by the Wildcat Canyon Fault, from which many fissures of smaller faults run, and on its western edge by the Hayward Fault, due for a major earthquake.
The rim of the caldera, above Cyclotron Road, is pressed upon by the heavy waterlogged soils, dipping west as much as 40°-50°, potentially endangering the residences and campus below at the time of a major earthquake.
Destruction of the older LBNL buildings could potentially cause more contamination of the watershed. (In 1998 the site was determined eligible for listing as a Superfund Site, but removed without reason being given in 2001)
The LBNL hillside location is vulnerable to urban-wildland fire, such as the 1991 Oakland Firestorm that caused the Lab to remove all personnel.
The General Purpose Lab in Blackberry Canyon is planned for a site on brittle volcanics underlain by mud, sure to move during a seismic event.
The Hazardous Waste storage buildings in Strawberry Canyon (including radioactive storage) are planned to be partly surrounded with 40 to 50 ft. piers intended to stop a landslide (two landslides underlie these buildings, one of volcanics, the other of mud, which move at different rates). Is this possible? — to stop mud and water with sticks? We encourage you to review our web site: www.savestrawberrycanyon.org. See the video "The Fault: Quakes, Slides and the Lawrence Berkeley Lab"

**Your support is needed as much as ever! Please Join-up/renew and contribute.
Membership is $10. Donations are terrific! SSC is a tax-deductible, 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

See a list of our Supporting Members.

Ongoing Developments — We are making a difference!
Jordan Trail - Photo Ken Cheetham		SAVE STRAWBERRY CANYON P.O. BOX 1234, Berkeley, California 94701 www.savestrawberrycanyon.org Board of Directors: Ignacio Chapela, Lesley Emmington Jones, Sylvia McLaughlin, John Shively, Georgia Wright
August Bulletin for Members, Walkers & Runners Save Strawberry Canyon (SSC) has been VERY busy. Sorry for the absence of bulletins re: LBNL's proposed development of 1 million gross sq. ft. of research labs, etc., on the hillsides and canyons. Thanks to the broad support of so many, SSC has participated in bold efforts to ensure that no development has happened yet! Update: In litigation: BELLA (Berkeley Lab Laser Accelerator), an "experimental facility" — proposed to generate 10 billion electron volts, on an unstable slide area in Blackberry Canyon. SSC filed in federal court on February 25th, Save Strawberry Canyon v. Department of Energy, alleging inadequate environmental (NEPA) review. To be heard before Judge Vaughn Walker, date not yet set. UC Regents approved the Seismic Life-Safety, Modernization, and Replacement of General Purpose Buildings, Phase II. This project consists of a new 43,000-gsf office and lab building (General Purpose Laboratory) in Blackberry Canyon above Cyclotron Drive and stabilization (possible?) of the Hazardous Waste Handling Facility in Strawberry Canyon, above the Botanical Garden. This Project was approved by the Department of Energy within 4 days! This unnaturally speedy review is alarming, but not surprising given that large amounts of Federal Stimulus Monies - ARRA - are flowing into the LBNL coffers. But isn't this all the more reason to act with responsibility? There was little response to concerns and comments expressed by local citizens (at least 15 comments were submitted) in the NEPA FONSI (Finding of NO Significant Impact) which was issued: See www.lbl.gov/Community/SeismicPhase2B/index.html for copies of the Final Environmental Assessment -- see Appendix D for responses to public comments (scroll down to the section headed "National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA)"). SSC is poised to litigate, continuing to advocate viable alternative site development, considering that: The hillsides and canyons are a major natural resource forming the bountiful Strawberry Creek watershed and a significant ecological and visual resource linking the East Bay Regional Parks to the great panorama of the San Francisco Bay. LBNL's WWII/Cold War campus sits atop the unstable soils of a collapsed caldera (the north western edge of Sibley Volcanic Regional Preserve) formed some 10 million years ago by volcanic action. The hillsides are a reservoir of unknown stored water deposits and traveling plumes — the extent to which this water is contaminated and its true depth remains a mystery. LBNL is straddled on its eastern edge by the Wildcat Canyon Fault, from which many fissures of smaller faults run, and on its western edge by the Hayward Fault, due for a major earthquake. The rim of the caldera, above Cyclotron Road, is pressed upon by the heavy waterlogged soils, dipping west as much as 40°-50°, potentially endangering the residences and campus below at the time of a major earthquake. Destruction of the older LBNL buildings could potentially cause more contamination of the watershed. (In 1998 the site was determined eligible for listing as a Superfund Site, but removed without reason being given in 2001) The LBNL hillside location is vulnerable to urban-wildland fire, such as the 1991 Oakland Firestorm that caused the Lab to remove all personnel. The General Purpose Lab in Blackberry Canyon is planned for a site on brittle volcanics underlain by mud, sure to move during a seismic event. The Hazardous Waste storage buildings in Strawberry Canyon (including radioactive storage) are planned to be partly surrounded with 40 to 50 ft. piers intended to stop a landslide (two landslides underlie these buildings, one of volcanics, the other of mud, which move at different rates). Is this possible? — to stop mud and water with sticks? We encourage you to review our web site: www.savestrawberrycanyon.org. See the video "The Fault: Quakes, Slides and the Lawrence Berkeley Lab" **Your support is needed as much as ever! Please Join-up/renew and contribute. Membership is $10. Donations are terrific! SSC is a tax-deductible, 501(c)3 non-profit organization. See a list of our Supporting Members.