Around Oakley: Plans in works for DuPont property

OVER THE PAST few years, there's been a lot of talk about the DuPont property and what a vital resource it is to the Oakley community. The main reason is that the property can house a substantial tax base, as well as quite a few jobs. The problem is that a project of this size takes a great deal of time and effort to complete.

The property's actual street address is Bridgehead Road, but it can be seen on Main Street from Bridgehead Road until just past Live Oak Road. DuPont started doing business in East County in 1955 when the company purchased about 552 acres. In 1956, the plant started manufacturing Freon refrigerants and tetraethyl lead, an antiknock compound for gasoline.

In 1962, a titanium dioxide plant was built, which started operations in 1963. Titanium dioxide is a white pigment compound used in paint and toothpaste. During its heyday, the DuPont plant employed almost 600 local people.

In the mid-1990s, plant operations stopped and the plant closed in 1998. In the past 10 years, DuPont officials have been working on cleaning up the damage the plant caused. They are working with state regulators to make sure all of the cleanup is completed.

Not all of the land is contaminated. As a matter of fact, the state has officially allowed DuPont to sell some of the property. Much of the vineyard area that surrounds the property was sold to Cline Cellars a few years after the plant's closure. For many years, Fred Cline had leased the property to grow grapes.

There is also property along Bridgehead Road that is ready for sale, as well as some areas within the property itself. Other areas will not be ready for sale for decades because the ground and ground water underneath the property are contaminated.

In the meantime, DuPont is able to lease the contaminated property to businesses that wish to build on top of the ground. Special measures must be taken to ensure the safety of the workers on the property, and DuPont makes sure that everyone is aware of that.

Over the years, there have been interested parties in the property. Currently, there is a power plant interested in a parcel on the property.

There is also talk starting about a project that might take up the remainder of the property.
This company is looking to build a research and development facility for biodiesel processing and storage. It is looking to work with green energy and investigating the idea of turning algae into an energy source. The City Council this week entered into an agreement with the company, Bay Area Bio Resources, to pursue the project.

All of this is still in the speculation stage, but at least some are willing to look at the site for use.

This land is very important to Oakley's future. The tax dollars it can bring to Oakley would be more than welcome; unfortunately, none of these things can be built tomorrow. As a matter of fact, don't start looking for anything until at least 2015 or later. We may not like it, but that is as long these things take.