In the mid-1990’s, I served on the Citizens’ Transportation Advisory Committee for the Stanislaus Area Association of Governments, currently called the Stanislaus Council of Governments (StanCOG). After each meeting, I would corner Dana Cowell, the Caltrans representative appointed to attend our monthly meetings. I always had questions for Mr. Cowell. Very knowledgeable, he patiently answered each one. After […]
Highway 132 barium
132 Freeway Will Be an Environmental Disaster
Environmentalists are notorious about opposing freeway projects , but the Sierra Club and other environmental organizations have been quiet about the 132 freeway plan. Either the project has not caught their attention or they just don’t care about the Valley because local politics are dominated by anti-environment interest groups. Regardless of the reasons for political silence, a discussion […]
Caltrans, Toxic Waste, and Highway 132
Caltrans’ June newsletter probably did more harm than good from a public relations standpoint. The newsletter was intended to update stakeholders about the project’s progress. Instead, a front page article in the Modesto Bee claimed the newsletter was misleading. Even worse, the information in the newsletter aggravated critics of the project who believe their comments […]
Latest Update on Modesto’s Toxic Waste, by Bruce Frohman
In our last report, we outlined problems with the mounds of dirt in the 132 right-of-way near the 99 freeway believed to contain toxic waste. As of this writing, Caltrans is working with the California Department of Toxic Substances (DTSC) to determine how heavily contaminated the dirt mounds are and what to do about them. Until […]
One Year Later: Still Unanswered Questions About Modesto’s Toxic Waste, by Bruce Frohman
In December 2011, the revelation that the 132 Freeway right-of-way on the west side of Modesto contains waste sites containing toxic barium made newspaper headlines. Caltrans wants to build a freeway over the sites without removing the toxic soil, even though some of the mounds are adjacent to a residential neighborhood. On Wednesday, November […]