Petaluma Bombing Target Archive Search Report ... - Corpsfuds.org

Find Preliminmy Assessment - Petduma Bombing Target
In an attempt to provide complete information and a thorough evaluation of the site, TechLaw has
conducted a site visit to gather additional information and record the current condition of the site.
TechLaw staff recorded the current state of this site both on film and video tape. The results of
this documentation are included as part of this report. The video tape documenting the results of
the site visits is included in the file for the Stoclcton Ordnance Depot.
Finally, TechLaw was required to evaluate the potential for hazards at the site and to complete an
Ordnance and Explosive Risk Assessment Code (RAC) for the site. The RAC for this site has
been provided as Appendix 5.
1.2 Site Background
Petalurna Bombing Target is located south of Petaluma, in Sonoma County, California, Township
4 North, Range 6 West (Figure I) The closest major roadway to the site is Highway 101. The
Petaluma Bombing Target was Iocated in the southwest comer of Section 17 and was comprised
of 640 acres. During preliminary research, TechLaw determined that this area also comprised the
Petaluma Rocket Range. The Rocket Range consisted of portions of Sections 17, 18, 19,20,21,
29 and 30 This target was used by the Navy for bombing practice and target gunnery (SB0071).
The Petaluma Bombing Target is located in the Petaluma Marshlands which is usually flooded
during heavy rains. Located approximately one mile away is Nelis Island which is owned by the
Corda family.
1.3 Organization of the Report
This Preliminary Assessment report is organized in the following manner:
Section 2.0 - Ownership fistorv - This section of the report discusses the ownership history of
the facility in question. It discusses the specific property and follows a basic chain of ownership
from the 1930s to the present. Transactions are discussed in chronological order and properties
are depicted on a red estate map (Figure 2)
Section 3.0 - Deoartment of Defense Operations - Section 3 of the report provides a detailed
discussian regarding the historical use of the site and focuses on DoD operations specifically.
This section of the report is divided into subsections which relate to specific areas of interest
Section 4.0 - Subsequent Develo~ment of the Site - TecKaw has evaluated the development of
Petaluma Bombing Target subsequent to World War II and use by DoD, and included the results
of this research in Section 4 of the report.
Section 5.0 - Results of the Site Visit - Section 5.0 of this Preliminary Assessment Report
contains a written summary of the observations made during TechLaw's visit to the site. The
scope of the site visit included observations made fiom roads and publicly accessible trails. No
sub-surface investigation was conducted. These results refer to the still photographs included in
Appendix 3 of this report.
Section 6.0 - Conclusions - This section of the report provides TechLaw's conclusions which
TechLaw, Inc. May 7, 1999
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