City Council
Report
City Council Meeting: November 18, 2025
Agenda Item: 4.B
1 of 5
To: Mayor and City Council
From: Rick Valte, Public Works Director, Public Works, Architecture Services Subject: Approval of the First Modification with Fleming Environmental, Inc. for Underground Storage Tank Removal at the Santa Monica Airport Recommended Action
Staff recommends that the City Council:
1. Adopt findings of categorical exemptions pursuant to Section 15330 and Section 15308 of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines; and
2. Authorize the City Manager to negotiate and execute a first modification to Agreement No. 11478 (CCS) in the amount of $400,000 with Fleming Environmental, Inc., for the removal and disposal of four underground fuel storage tanks at the Santa Monica Airport for the Public Works Department. This will result in a five-year amended agreement with a new total amount not to exceed $931,000, with future year funding contingent on Council budget approval.
Summary
The City of Santa Monica (City) owns eight underground storage tanks (USTs) and one above-ground storage tank, which contain diesel and unleaded fuel. The City’s USTs are located at various facilities, including four fire stations, the Public Safety Facility, and the Santa Monica Airport. The California Health and Safety Code (HSC) mandates that, on or before December 31, 2025, UST owners must permanently close any USTs that are not compliant with the HSC. Recently, it has been determined that the four USTs located at Atlantic Aviation at the Santa Monica Airport do not comply with the HSC and, therefore, must be permanently closed by the December deadline.
Staff recommends a first modification to Agreement No. 11478 (CCS) in the amount of $400,000 with Fleming Environmental, Inc. for the removal and disposal of four 2 of 5
underground fuel storage tanks at the Santa Monica Airport, to comply with the state mandate and avoid statutory red-tagging of the fueling system, which would take effect on January 1, 2026. This modification would result in a five-year amended agreement, with a new total amount not to exceed $931,000.
Discussion
The City’s USTs are located at various City facilities, including four fire stations, the Public Safety Facility, and the Santa Monica Airport. The four airport USTs, located at 3000 31st Street within the Atlantic Aviation operational area, consist of three 12,000- gallon aviation fuel tanks and one 500-gallon tank. These tanks were installed in the mid-1980s and are nearing 40 years of service. They are constructed of double-walled steel, backfilled with concrete slurry, and located between two airport hangars. There are several state-mandated tests to ensure the proper functionality and integrity of the tanks. The original solicitation for testing, maintenance, and repair of the City’s underground and above-ground fuel storage tanks was posted on the City’s online bidding site on March 9, 2023. Fleming Environmental, Inc. was awarded Bid #4449 on August 22, 2023, as the Best Bidder.
The California HSC mandates that, on or before December 31, 2025, UST owners must permanently close USTs that are not compliant with the HSC. On April 18, 2025, the State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) issued a formal clarification, concluding that the system is subject to the mandatory upgrade or closure provisions of the HSC. The Santa Monica Fire Department (SMFD) is the local agency tasked to administer the Certified Unified Program Agency (CUPA), for the California Environmental Protection Agency (CalEPA) and to implement and enforce hazardous waste and hazardous materials regulatory management programs. SMFD is aware of the HSC regulatory deadline and, after further review, determined that the City’s Airport UST system could comply with the new regulations with minor modifications to the piping system. Several retrofitting options were explored, including retrofitting the existing piping to meet the new standards. Unfortunately, the proposed upgrades and retrofit options could compromise the integrity of the system. Therefore, in September 2025, the decision was made to proceed with decommissioning and removing the tank 3 of 5
system. Following that decision, SMFD notified the Airport that, by December 1, 2025, the City’s contractor must submit a UST System Closure Permit Application for SMFD’s review and approval. Tank removal and environmental remediation are scheduled to follow in early 2026.
Agreement No. 11478 (CCS) authorizes regulatory compliance work on the City’s fuel storage systems. Under Section E, the contractor may perform SMFD-permitted modifications or repairs identified through inspections or testing. The decision to remove the tanks followed regulatory inspections, corrosion monitoring failures, and CUPA coordination under the existing contract. Therefore, tank removal and disposal are considered corrective compliance actions consistent with the agreement’s intent. This modification clarifies the scope and funding to include full decommissioning and remediation of the Airport tank system, as required by regulators.
The recommended removal project would include demolition of the concrete slab, excavation, safe removal of all four USTs, soil testing and remediation in the event of contamination, and backfilling and site restoration. The work is estimated to cost $350,000 to $450,000, depending on the scale of remediation required. Staff recommends a first modification to Agreement No. 11478 (CCS) in the amount of $400,000 with Fleming Environmental, Inc., resulting in a five-year amended contract not to exceed $931,000, to complete the full decommissioning, removal, and remediation of the Airport’s UST system and to continue to inspect and repair the USTs throughout the City. This modification would allow the City to fund this critical compliance work prior to December 31, 2025.
Past Council Actions
Meeting Date Description
08/22/2023 Original bid and award of agreement with vendor for Testing, Maintenance, and Repair of the City’s Underground and
Above-ground Fuel Storage Tanks
4 of 5
Environmental Analysis
This agreement is categorically exempt from CEQA pursuant to Section 15330, Class 30, of the CEQA Guidelines. This exemption applies to minor cleanup actions taken to prevent or eliminate the release of hazardous substances, with a cost of less than $1 million. The scope of the project – removing four fuel tanks and addressing any minor soil contamination – falls within Class 30 as a minor remedial action to prevent potential future environmental contamination. In addition, the work is exempt pursuant to Section 15308 of the CEQA Guidelines, which covers actions taken by a regulatory agency (the City) to assure the maintenance and protection of the environment. There is no expansion of use proposed at the site – only the removal of existing, inactive infrastructure – and no other unusual circumstances that would negate the use of a categorical exemption. Therefore, no further environmental review is required.
Financial Impacts and Budget Actions
Staff seeks authority to approve available funding from the Airport Fund to increase the amount of contract #11478 with Fleming Environmental, Inc., for underground fuel storage tank removal services.
Contract Modification Request
Agreement
#
Current
Authorized
Amount
FY2025-26
Request
Amount
Dept/CIP Account # Total Revised
Contract Amount
11478 $531,000 $400,000 C5704710.689000 $931,000
Future year funding is contingent on Council budget approval. 5 of 5
Prepared By: Sebastian Felbeck, Senior Construction Manager Approved Forwarded to Council
Attachments:
A. August 22, 2023 Staff Report (Web Link)
B. 01 - CT 11478 (CCS) - Fleming Environmental
C. 2025 - OaksInitiative-wEx_final
D. Levine Act Disclosure Form 2025_3-27-25
E. Written Comments