Federal, state and local officials took part in a tour of the Whittaker-Bermite cleanup site Wednesday, discussing progress and cleanup plans for which officials hope to gain federal approvals.

The land, a 996-acre plot next to the Metrolink station on Soledad Canyon Road in the hills behind the Saugus Swap Meet, was used in part for a munitions factory in the first half of the last century, leaving decades worth of a contaminant known as perchlorate in the soil and groundwater.

The project was described by officials at CDM Smith, an engineering and construction company that provides solutions in water, environmental, energy and facilities projects for public and private clients, as “one of the largest bioremediation projects in world,” based on the volume of soil they’re cleaning at the site.

The contamination, which goes approximately 70 feet deep at some points, according to officials, is being cleaned with the help of insects that eat the contaminants out of the soil, with the aid of a glycerine that makes the soil a more attractive meal for the contaminant-eating bugs.

CDM Smith has about 30-35 workers on site every day, for about 10 hours a day.

Officials noted during Wednesday’s tour that they hope to have the contaminated soil portion of the land — somewhere between 20-30 acres of actual land — cleaned by 2018, if all goes to plan.

Every day, about 350 tons of soil are cleaned and transported from one of six areas identified for cleanup to another portion of the land where it’s stored while the bio-friendly bugs eat away the contamination.

The following information is from a city of Santa Clarita website about Whittaker Bermite:

This former munitions testing and manufacturing site has contamination issues, which include perchlorate, volatile organic compounds, and both soil and groundwater contamination. The current ownership of the property ownership is complex with multiple entities holding interests in the property. However, the financial responsibility for site cleanup continues to remain with the Whittaker Corporation and their successors.

The Clean-Up Efforts:

The site clean-up is under the supervision of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).  DTSC issued an order to Whittaker Corporation to perform site clean-up. The property has been divided into seven “operable units” with differing clean-up strategies for each unit. Based upon the present schedule, it is estimated that the clean-up of the soil will take at least another four to six years and the groundwater clean-up could take 20+ years.

Development Entitlements:

In May 1995, the Santa Clarita City Council approved the Porta Bella Specific Plan and accompanying Development Agreement, creating vested land use entitlements on the property.

These entitlements allow for the development of 1,244 single family residential units and 1,667 multi-family residential units, as well as 96 acres of commercial and business/office park uses.

The Specific Plan also envisions 407 acres of open space and 42 acres of recreational uses.  Development of the site will require the construction of millions of dollars of public infrastructure (roads, parks, schools, etc.) at the developer’s expense. While the Development Agreement will expire in 2016, the Specific Plan for the property will remain in place indefinitely until it is amended or replaced by another entitlement granted by the City Council in the future, which City staff believes is likely to be proposed prior to redevelopment of the site.