In a letter dated July 19, 2010 the California Regional Water Board said, "This area has been known to be a discharge threat to Humboldt Bay for more than five years because of its close proximity to Humboldt Bay. The contaminants of concern (COCs) in AOI-8 include a host of chlorinated volatile organic compounds (CVOCs).. The recent groundwater monitoring effort in compliance with Regional Water Board Monitoring and Reporting Program (MRP) No. R1-2010-0023 continues to show the presence of CVOCs including; tetrachloroethene (PCE), trichloroethene (TCE), and Cis 1,2-dichloroethene (Cis-1,2-DCE)."
"Clearly, the shallow groundwater WQOs (Water Quality Objectives) are exceeded for the identified CVOCs. In addition to the CVOCs, dissolved metals were measured and some of these levels also exceeded WQOS in both shallow and deeper groundwater."