ABSTRACT
Much of the author experience relating to the cleanup of hydrocarbon contaminated soils has been garnered from serving the city of Santa Fe Springs (SFS), California as a redevelopment consultant and project manager. SFS has determined that when it is suspected that property may be contaminated with petroleum hydrocarbon wastes, in all such circumstances a site characterization study must be conducted by a qualified environmental engineer to determine the characteristics of the waste, and the lateral and vertical extent of the contamination. During the recent past the city of Santa Fe Springs has taken on the role of lead agency in the cleanup of a number of properties. Formal guidelines have yet to be adopted by the regulatory agencies for determining when the concentrations of petroleum hydrocarbons in soil will be considered “hazardous” or a threat to the waters of the state.
