Excerpt:

The Navy will present options on possible ways to clean up 60 acres at Alameda Point slated for a regional park at the Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meeting at 6:30 p.m., this evening on the second floor of City Hall West, 950 West Mall Square at Alameda Point. The draft cleanup options represent the culmination of 25 years of groundwater and soil studies that began before base closure was announced. Only five acres have been flagged for cleanup, but uncertainty about what lies beneath the pavement and structures requires a conservative approach.

The site lies in the northwest portion of the old airfield along the Oakland Estuary and features open grassland, seasonal wetlands, a runway, a large concrete bunker and two buildings. Input from the community and regulatory agencies on the cleanup plan will have a major impact on the design and use of the future park.

The most thorough of the Navy’s draft cleanup options would involve demolishing all the structures and pavement and removing all soil to a depth of 10 feet and replacing it with clean soil. This option would eliminate all future restrictions on digging and landscaping, as well as annual inspection costs. The Navy estimates the cost at $108 million.