The Southern California Branch was pleased to have Keith Elliott as our keynote speaker. Mr. Elliott is with the LA Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the title of his presentation was "Working with the LARWCQB--How to Get Approval For Containment Zones." On October 2, 1996, the State Water Resources Board adopted Amendment Resolution 92-49, Policies and Procedures for Investigation and Cleanup and Abatement. This Amendment to Section 13304 of the Water Code calls for the inclusion of a "Containment Zone Policy." The policy establishes conditions under which a Regional Water Quality Board may approve containment zones. Mr. Elliot discussed the conditions under which a containment zone would be approved. A primary condition would be that a specific portion of groundwater bearing units existed where water quality objectives cannot be reasonably achieved. Keith went on to discuss the requirements for long term monitoring to ensure that there is no migration of contaminants, and the requirement to have on file an approved contingency plan if migration is detected. Keith enlighted us to the fact that the containment zone policy was not intended for broad use, but rather for specific and limited application. He said that probably less than 100 sites in California may meet the requirements to be approved as containment zones. The meeting was very interesting and well attended. We wish to thank the sponsor of the flyer, Tri-County Drilling, Inc., for their support. 

Our May meeting was a panel presentation on Brownfields. Ms. Lynn Preslo of Earth Tech and Mr. John Van Vlear of Brown, Pistone, Hurley & Van Vlear were our keynote speakers for the dinner meeting held at the Wyndham Gardens Hotel in Costa Mesa. The speakers addressed the legal aspects of Brownfield projects as well as an overview of where we have been and where we are going with the remediation and redevelopment of Brownfields. More information on this talk will be presented in our next newsletter.