Health officials concerned about environmental costs of rail trench

Wednesday, Jan. 24, 2001 | 7:01 a.m.

Among other things, the Washoe District Health Department is concerned the city may be wrong to assume it won't run into underground storage tanks if it goes through with the proposal to dig the 2.2-mile trench.

Health officials also are worried the city has failed to take enough soil samples to "appropriately characterize what type and what levels of contaminants exist in the soil."

The environmental concerns "can be resolved, but they must be thoroughly examined," District Health Officer Barbara Hunt said in a statement before a district health board meeting Wednesday.

Mark Demuth, the city's lead environmental consultant on the project, told the board that plans are already in place to take an additional 40 soil samples.

Demuth remains confident that no underground storage tanks will be found at the site because the railroad right-of-way has been there since the 1860s, city spokeswoman Gail Conners said.

County health officials expressed their concerns in letters to the U.S. Transportation Department earlier this month in the form of formal comment on the final Environmental Impact Statement for the Reno Railroad Corridor Project.

The Reno City Council is scheduled next month to consider whether it will move ahead with the plans to eliminate 11 rail crossings along the 2.2-mile corridor through downtown Reno.

Backers say increased rail traffic stemming from the consolidation of Southern and Union Pacific railroads is a public safety concern because traffic gridlock at railroad crossings would impede emergency vehicles.

Critics say the city has underestimated the costs, especially of easing environmental effects. Petroleum from leaky pipelines and chemicals, especially from old dry-cleaning businesses, are anticipated to be among the contaminants in the soil and water.

County health officials told the DOT that in order to ensure minimal downtime during construction, a plan must be developed to address cleanup and closure of underground storage tanks that are found during excavation.

While proponents of the project say it is unlikely underground storage tanks will be found, numerous tanks were found during construction of other projects in the downtown area and "likely will be found during construction of the rail trench," the health officials concluded.

In addition, the health officials said they expect "virtually all" of the excavated soils to exceed federal limits for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbon, which means the soil will have to be treated or disposed of in a fashion approved by the health district.

"The costs associated with dealing with these soils can vary greatly depending on the type and level of contamination," the department said.

The health officials also raised concerns about contaminant concentrations in water flowing at the Glendale Water Filtration Plant and the potential for violations of the Environmental Protection Agency's air quality standards during construction.