A piece of burning building falls as Orange County firefighters battle a fire affecting the north hangar at the Tustin Air Base in Tustin on Nov. 7, 2023. (Paul Bersebach, Orange County Register, SCNG/TNS)
(Tribune News Service) — City officials expect the Navy to commit another $13 million for cleanup costs associated with the fire that destroyed the World War II-era blimp hangar in Tustin, according to documents that are a part of Tuesday’s council meeting.
Navy officials have long said the service is committed to repaying the city for cleanup costs for the fire that spewed hazardous contaminants into neighborhoods and parks, though the process takes time, but city leaders have expressed exasperation for how slow negotiating reimbursements has been.
The new commitment from the Navy brings its reimbursement total to $24 million.
The city has spent $74 million on the cleanup response and expects that number to continue to rise, while Tustin’s annual budget is around $90 million, city leaders say. Mayor Austin Lumbard has said the city’s fiscal solvency is under threat and the Navy isn’t sending money fast enough.
“We need the Navy to really change their posture and to get us the funds quicker, more efficiently and frankly stop playing games,” Lumbard said. “For them to be not providing the funding that we suspect they have is incredibly disappointing.”
City officials are also still fighting to get an emergency proclamation and funding from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. Gov. Gavin Newsom said in January he wouldn’t issue an emergency proclamation for the hangar fire, saying reimbursement is a federal responsibility.
Lumbard said the city tried to get a meeting with the governor on Saturday when he was in town for a political rally, but his office declined the request. A representative of his office said Monday the request was last minute and the schedule was tight and couldn’t be changed.
The state legislature could soon formally ask the U.S. Congress to get Tustin more money. State Sen. Josh Newman on Monday announced that he had introduced in the legislature a joint resolution that calls for President Joe Biden and the U.S. Congress to provide $100 million in supplemental funding for Tustin, saying the city has been stretched beyond its financial limits. Sen. Tom Umberg and Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris co-authored the resolution.
“The Navy North Hangar fire has inflicted a profound financial and environmental impact on the community,” Newman said in a statement. “I’m glad to join my colleagues, in coordination with city leaders, in asking President Biden and the U.S. Congress to support all necessary remediation and cleanup efforts in swiftly responding to the pressing needs created by this devastating fire.”
Federal government assistance would also help get money to residents and other government agencies that have incurred costs related to the fire, Lumbard said.
The joint resolution is not legally binding and requires approval from both the Assembly and the Senate. It does not require the governor’s signature. A spokesperson for Newman’s office said the resolution was introduced Monday and, if approved, copies will be sent to the president, congressional leadership, the secretary of defense and the secretary of the Navy.
The City Council on Tuesday will also consider extending its local emergency proclamation. Fire debris and asbestos-containing material remain at the site where the hangar burned — under a containment cover — and the Navy has yet to schedule when it will remove that debris, according to a staff report. The city has to re-up its emergency proclamation every 60 days.
The Navy has awarded the contract for the cleanup work.
City contractors are also in the middle of completing a study looking at whether asbestos and lead are still lingering in the air or soil of residences near the hangar. Results are expected by April.
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