July 7, 2026
City Council
DATE: July 7, 2026
TO: Mayor Martinez and Members of the City Council
FROM:
Councilmember Sue Wilson (Sponsor)
Vice Mayor Doria Robinson (Co-sponsor)
Councilmember Cesar Zepeda (Co-sponsor)
Subject:
Support of the Community Cleanup Plan for the United
Heckathorn Superfund Site
FINANCIAL IMPACT: There is no financial impact to adopting this resolution.
PREVIOUS COUNCIL
ACTION:
The City of Richmond has been working with the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) since January
2012 on the United Heckathorn cleanup plan and
community engagement strategy. The City Council
received a quarterly EPA update on October 16, 2012.
STATEMENT OF THE
ISSUE:
The United Heckathorn Superfund Site in Richmond’s
Lauritzen Channel has been contaminated with DDT and
dieldrin since the 1940s. A mid-1990s U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)-directed cleanup
failed, and contamination has worsened since then. The
agency has been developing a second cleanup plan
since 2012 and is expected to release it for public
comment by late August 2026. The City Council is asked
to adopt a resolution endorsing the Community Cleanup
Plan, developed by the Richmond Shoreline Alliance,
San Francisco Baykeeper and Sierra Club San Francisco
Bay Chapter, which calls for a full and complete removal of the contamination, and a lasting remedy before the
EPA finalizes its own approach.
AGENDA
REPORT
July 7, 2026
RECOMMENDED ACTION:
ADOPT a resolution in support of the Community
Cleanup Plan for the United Heckathorn Superfund Site,
developed by the Richmond Shoreline Alliance, San
Francisco Baykeeper, and Sierra Club San Francisco
Bay Chapter — Councilmember Sue Wilson (510-926-
0408)/Vice Mayor Doria Robinson (510-620-
6568)/Councilmember Cesar Zepeda (510-620-6593).
DISCUSSION:
From 1944 to 1966, chemical companies operating at the United Heckathorn site in the Richmond Inner Harbor released two long-lasting toxic pesticides, dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and dieldrin, into nearby waterways, including the Lauritzen, Parr, and Santa Fe Channels. A mid-1990s cleanup failed; contamination has exceeded cleanup goals every year since 1999, and the channel now has more DDT than before the cleanup. Samples collected in 2013 and 2016 found contamination at levels up to 3,800 times higher than acceptable standards. A "Do Not Eat" advisory for locally caught fish has been posted since 2011.
Richmond is an environmental justice community: nearly 80 percent of residents identify as people of color and 15 percent live below the poverty line. DDT and dieldrin are probable human carcinogens linked to liver cancer, premature birth, and respiratory illness. Residents who rely on local fishing face the greatest direct health risk.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has been developing a second cleanup plan since 2012, over 13 years, while contamination worsens. With EPA expected to release its proposal for public comment by late August 2026, the Richmond Shoreline Alliance, San Francisco (SF) Baykeeper, and Sierra Club San Francisco Bay Chapter have developed a Community Cleanup Plan grounded in the lessons of the first cleanup's failure. The plan calls for:
Isolate and drain the Lauritzen Channel using a temporary waterproof barrier (caisson), avoiding underwater dredging that spread contamination during the first cleanup.
Complete removal of all pile supported structures/wharfs, rip-rap contaminated sediment, soil, pilings, and debris from the channel and upland areas. Address seeps and groundwater with a perimeter barrier and comprehensive groundwater collection and treatment system.
Offsite disposal of all contaminated materials — no capping in place. Rigorous post-cleanup monitoring, including fish and shellfish tissue testing to protect fishers.
Worker protection, with fair compensation for workers affected by stoppages, borne by the Responsible Parties under Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA).
Adopting this resolution before EPA finalizes its preferred remedy sends the clearest possible signal that Richmond's elected leaders and community stand united in
July 7, 2026
demanding a complete and lasting cleanup. Richmond's residents have waited more than 30 years for the U.S EPA to do its job and fully clean up the United Heckathorn site, and over 80 years since cancer-causing DDT and dieldrin began contaminating the surrounding area and the San Francisco Bay. The City Council has a powerful voice — and this is the moment to use it.
DOCUMENTS ATTACHED:
Attachment 1 – Draft Resolution in Support of the Community Cleanup Plan for the United Heckathorn Superfund Site
Attachment 2 – Fact Sheet: United Heckathorn Superfund Site Community Cleanup Plan
Attachment 3 – United Heckathorn Community Cleanup Plan (Richmond Shoreline Alliance, SF Baykeeper, & Sierra Club SF Bay Chapter, June 2026)