Site Description

3.0 SITE DESCRTPTION AND

OPERATIONAL HISTORY

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brief summary of Site operations related to the Order requirernents are provided in this section. The information provided in this section is based on the best available
The Site description and
evidence.
a

3.1 Site Description

Prior to Disney's acquisition of the property in the late 1930's, the only known use of the property was as a polo ground. Disney has utilized the Site since 1938 primarily for producing animated and live-action motion pictures and original television product for network and syndication markets. Site operations have included office buildings, sound stages and open areas/sets for filming. Other Site-related support activities have included painting, nonproduction black and white film processing, lithographic printing, clay modeling, former and
current vehicle fueling stations, and a former vehicle maintenance area (Kennedy/Jenks Consultants, 1992). The majority of the original building stmctures have been retained at the Site, however, construction of office and production buildings has continued to the present date. The current Site layout is provided in Figure 2. Historical Site layouts are also shown on the

historical Site investigation figures provided in Appendix B-

3.2 Site Chronology

A brief chronology of key Site activities focused on operations relevant to the Order is provided below:

Date Sept 1938

Operation Property purchased/construction begins. Disney obtained riglrts from the LADWP to use underlying groundwater for air cooling/heating purposes as long as water was returned to the groundwater basin and no chernicals were added to the water.

Nov
1939

1938
to

East and West Wells installed

- supplied water for once-through

air conditioning system (Section 3.3.2).

1960

Extracted groundwater from well water cooling systern discharged to settling basins between Riverside Drive and the Los Angeles

River per agreement with LADWP.

1959/1960 1960 to 1992 1961

Improvanents to Alameda Street storm drain.

Stormwater Diversion Sump operation (Section 3.3.2.2). affrrmed Disney's right to use groundwater as long aS use was not consumptive and was used in
Stipulated judgment on water use

I'RS
1960 to 1982

Site Description
the "same manner" and for the "same purpose" as it had since 1939. Extracted groundwater discharged to City of Burbank catch basin on Buena Vista Street and then to the Los Angeles fuver, upstream

from a rubber dam (owned and operated by the City of Los Angeles) that diverted the water into the Headworks Spreading Grounds.
1982 to 1993

Extracted groundwater discharged to City of Burbank catch basin on Buena Vista Street and then to the lns Angeles River (use of rubber dam was discontinued by the City of Los Angeles).

JantoFeb 1989
Jan 1993

North Well installed.

NPDES permit iszued for well water cooling systan water discharge. Groundwater extraction for well water cooling systan ceased and new cooling tower starts operation. Keystone/Parkside storm drain connection.
Second cooling tower installed.

Feb 26,1993

1993
1996 1993 to present

Current cooling system uses City of Burbank-supplied water; blowdown discharged to sanitary sewer.

3.3

Site Operations Relevant to the Assessment Required by the Order

The following Site operations were identified as being relevant to the LARWQCB requirernents under the Order and/or the subsequent technical discussions:

. o o o .

Groundwater extraction and discharge as part of the former well water cooling systern operations; Sanitary sewer effluent discharge as part of the current cooling system operations; Stormwater run-offcontainment as part of the former stormwater diversion sump; Potassium dichromate storage and use during film processing operations in former Building 15;and

Other Site operations where the RWQCB has asked whether metals or metal-containing compounds may have been previously used or stored, such as the Paint and Sign Shop,
Central Plant sumps and clarifiers, the Former Barrel Storage Area, and the former waste oil tanks near the former Garage Area.

The following sections summarize the operations that occurred in each of these areas.