Dear Alameda County Department of Environmental Health,

I write to express my opposition to the proposed closure of the case at 6039 College Avenue (and/or related to the adjacent site of 6029 College Avenue). 

The site was previously a gas station with a leaking underground storage tank.

Do not let a major oil company off the hook for potential pollution in our neighborhood. 

The site does not meet the criteria for closure under the Low-Threat Closure Policy because the County previously determined that environmental conditions have not been fully delineated. Despite this determination, the County now proposes to close the case because the site is vacant and does not present a current threat to human health – despite the well documented Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) case. 

The County’s proposed decision to close the site as if it will remain vacant is also bad policy and breathtakingly inconsistent with the rhetoric of County Leadership. Oakland, Alameda County,  and the greater Bay Area are in the midst of overlapping housing and climate crises. The County must do its part to solve, not perpetuate, theses crises by ensuring that contaminated sites are remediated and suitable for redevelopment. This site sits within the very core of Rockridge and is ¼ mile from the Rockridge BART station, making it a uniquely symbolic site that cannot be allowed to remain vacant. ACDEH, reconsider your closure decision and work with all relevant decisionmakers and resources to remediate this site so it may benefit current and future community members.