Castro Cove

[[File:Don_Víctor_Castro.jpg|thumb|upright|Castro Cove is named after Don Víctor Castro, a Californio ranchero and politician.]] '''Castro Cove''' is a "portion of the San Pablo Bay"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Castro Cove {{!}} Hazardous Waste {{!}} Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program |url=https://darrp.noaa.gov/hazardous-waste/castro-cove |access-date=2022-10-22 |website=darrp.noaa.gov}}</ref> in Richmond, California located between Point San Pablo and the confluence of Wildcat Creek into Castro Creek.<ref name="monitorprog">[http://www.sfei.org/camp/servlet/DisplayProgram?which=General&pid=SFCA0005134 Monitoring Program Summary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928195616/http://www.sfei.org/camp/servlet/DisplayProgram?which=General&pid=SFCA0005134 |date=2007-09-28 }}, California Coastal Water Quality Monitoring Inventory, retrieved August 31, 2007</ref>

==Overview== The cove is made up of mudflats, bay mud, and intertidal salt marsh owned by Chevron USA. The cove forms an important estuarine environmental resource for San Francisco Bay.<ref name="monitorprog"/> It is the home of many endangered species including the Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse, Ridgway's rail, steelhead, and Olympia Oyster.<ref name="NOAA">[http://www.darrp.noaa.gov/pacific/castro/index.html Castro Cove/Chevron Richmond, CA] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917164344/http://www.darrp.noaa.gov/pacific/castro/index.html|date=2008-09-17}}, ''National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration'' (NOAA), retrieved August 1, 2007</ref> Other benthic invertebrates, mammals, fish, and birds also live in the habitat; all the animals may have been injured by contamination, whether endangered or of least concern.<ref name="NOAA"/> Castro Cove is named after Don Víctor Castro.{{citation needed|date=October 2013}}

==Pollution== {{Main|Chevron Richmond Refinery}} The cove is also a recreational, fishing, boating, and shellfishing area.<ref name="monitorprog"/> The Richmond Rod & Gun Club Yacht Harbor is located on the western coast of the cove. The Chevron Richmond Refinery located at the south end of the inlet dumps 5.6 million gallons daily of treated industrial use waters into the Cove, Castro Creek and San Pablo Bay.<ref name="monitorprog"/> From 1902 until 1987 the refinery released various contaminants in its wastewater and other run-off, which severely contaminated the Bay mud of the cove.<ref name="NOAA"/> In 1998 the California Regional Water Quality Control Board began to plan cleanup of the site and pressured Chevron. The water board used the authority of the Bay Protection and Toxic Clean-up Program to require Chevron to produce a sediment characterization work plan in 1998.<ref name="NOAA"/> Years of discharge or polluted water left the cove with high levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and mercury contamination.<ref name="NOAA"/>

==Cleanup== Between 1999 and 2001 benthic toxicity tests found PAHs and mercury levels at up to 507 mg/kg and 13 mg/kg respectively at this site and a {{convert|20|acre|m2|sing=on}} portion was designated as an area of concern (AOC).<ref name="NOAA"/> The most contaminated, AOC is adjacent to the former wastewater outfall which has been relocated into San Pablo Bay.<ref name="NOAA"/> A California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA)-mandated mitigated negative declaration was completed and a corrective action plan was designed.<ref name="NOAA"/> The plan included a natural resource damage assessment will cordon off the AOC with steel sheet piling and have the contaminated muds and sediment dredged and pumped into a disused treatment pond.<ref name="NOAA"/> In that treatment pond the toxic waste would be dried and then neutralized with a stabilizing agent like fly ash or cement.<ref name="NOAA"/> The inactive pond would then be regraded and capped with vegetation.<ref name="NOAA"/> The remediation project was originally scheduled for the summer of 2007.<ref name="NOAA"/> In 2010, the final plan was released<ref>{{Cite web |date=June 2010 |title=Castro Cove/Chevron Richmond Refinery: FINAL Damage Assessment and Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment |url=https://darrp.noaa.gov/sites/default/files/case-documents/Castro_Cove_Chevron_Richmond_Refinery_Final_Damage_Assessment_and_Restoration_Plan_Environmental_Assessment.pdf |access-date=2025-09-26 |website=NOAA’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program}}</ref> and Chevron reached an agreement to pay a 2.85 million settlement for the restoration.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Castro Cove {{!}} Hazardous Waste {{!}} Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program |url=https://darrp.noaa.gov/hazardous-waste/castro-cove |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250714160655/https://darrp.noaa.gov/hazardous-waste/castro-cove |archive-date=2025-07-14 |access-date=2025-09-26 |website=darrp.noaa.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2010-09-03 |title=$2.85 Million Released to Restore San Pablo Bay ... |url=https://nrm.dfg.ca.gov/FileHandler.ashx?DocumentID=23416&inline=true |access-date=2025-09-28 |website=California Department of Fish and Wildlife}}</ref>

The funds were used to complete two restoration projects:

'''Cullinan Ranch Restoration''' - San Pablo Bay, California

* Approximately 1,500 acres diked bay lands were restored to mature tidal marsh. The area includes tidal channels, mudflats, and salt marsh habitat, which is managed by the San Pablo Bay National Wildlife Refuge.

'''Dotson Family Marsh Restoration''' - Richmond, California

* Previously called Breuner Marsh, the land was renamed in honor of Dotson family who were early advocates of preserving the area.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Welcome to Dotson Family Marsh |url=https://www.ebparks.org/sites/default/files/welcometodotsonfamilymarsh.pdf |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=East Bay Parks}}</ref> The project included restoration or enhancement of 150 acres of wetlands and coastal prairie. Public access was also provided via a raised boardwalk, which completes a previously unconnected 1.5-mile section in the San Francisco Bay Trail.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Dotson Family Marsh Restoration and Public Access Project |url=https://wra-ca.com/environmental-projects/dotson-family-marsh-restoration-monitoring/ |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=WRA Environmental Consultants |language=en-US}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

Category:Bodies of water of Richmond, California Category:Bays of California Category:Bays of Contra Costa County, California Category:San Francisco Bay Category:Geography of Richmond, California Category:Coves of the United States Category:Wetlands of the San Francisco Bay Area