# Castro Cove > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Castro_Cove > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Castro_Cove.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castro_Cove > Source revision: 1336879222 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) [[File:Don_Víctor_Castro.jpg|thumb|upright|Castro Cove is named after Don [Víctor Castro](/source/V%C3%ADctor_Castro_(landowner)), a [Californio](/source/Californio) ranchero and politician.]] '''Castro Cove''' is a "portion of the [San Pablo Bay](/source/San_Pablo_Bay)"{{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}} in [Richmond, California](/source/Richmond%2C_California) located between [Point San Pablo](/source/Point_San_Pablo) and the confluence of [Wildcat Creek](/source/Wildcat_Creek_(California)) into [Castro Creek](/source/Castro_Creek).[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 ==Overview== The [cove](/source/cove) is made up of [mudflats](/source/mudflats), [bay mud](/source/bay_mud), and [intertidal salt marsh](/source/intertidal_salt_marsh) owned by [Chevron USA](/source/Chevron_USA). The cove forms an important [estuarine](/source/estuarine) environmental resource for [San Francisco Bay](/source/San_Francisco_Bay). It is the home of many endangered species including the [Salt Marsh Harvest Mouse](/source/Salt_Marsh_Harvest_Mouse), [Ridgway's rail](/source/Ridgway's_rail), [steelhead](/source/Rainbow_trout), and [Olympia Oyster](/source/Olympia_oyster).[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](/source/National_Oceanic_and_Atmospheric_Administration)'' (NOAA), retrieved August 1, 2007 Other [benthic](/source/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](/source/least_concern). Castro Cove is named after [Don Víctor Castro](/source/Don_V%C3%ADctor_Castro).{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} ==Pollution== {{Main|Chevron Richmond Refinery}} The cove is also a recreational, fishing, boating, and shellfishing area. The [Richmond Rod & Gun Club Yacht Harbor](/source/Richmond_Rod_%26_Gun_Club_Yacht_Harbor) is located on the western coast of the cove. The [Chevron Richmond Refinery](/source/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](/source/Cove), Castro Creek and [San Pablo Bay](/source/San_Pablo_Bay). 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. In 1998 the [California Regional Water Quality Control Board](/source/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](/source/Bay_Protection_and_Toxic_Clean-up_Program) to require Chevron to produce a sediment characterization work plan in 1998. Years of discharge or polluted water left the cove with high levels of [polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons](/source/polycyclic_aromatic_hydrocarbons) (PAHs) and [mercury contamination](/source/mercury_poisoning). ==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). The most contaminated, AOC is adjacent to the former wastewater outfall which has been relocated into [San Pablo Bay](/source/San_Pablo_Bay). A [California Environmental Quality Act](/source/California_Environmental_Quality_Act) (CEQA)-mandated [mitigated negative declaration](/source/mitigated_negative_declaration) was completed and a corrective action plan was designed. 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. In that treatment pond the toxic waste would be dried and then neutralized with a stabilizing agent like [fly ash](/source/fly_ash) or cement. The inactive pond would then be regraded and capped with vegetation. The remediation project was originally scheduled for the summer of 2007. In 2010, the final plan was released{{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](/source/NOAA)’s Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program}} and Chevron reached an agreement to pay a 2.85 million settlement for the restoration.{{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}}{{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](/source/California_Department_of_Fish_and_Wildlife)}} 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](/source/San_Pablo_Bay_National_Wildlife_Refuge). '''[Dotson Family Marsh](/source/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.{{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}} 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](/source/San_Francisco_Bay_Trail).{{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}} ==References== {{reflist}} {{Bodies of water in Richmond, California}} {{coord|37.956|-122.401|display=title}} 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 --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Castro Cove](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castro_Cove) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castro_Cove?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.