From Superfund Legacy to Strategic Energy Asset

Executive Summary

Since 2011, I have led a sustained, multi-stakeholder effort to transform the former Halaco Magnesium Plant in Oxnard, California from an environmentally burdened Superfund site into a mission-aligned platform for energy resilience and national security. My work has combined coalition building, adaptive reuse strategy, and public-private coordination to reposition Halaco for clean technology manufacturing, workforce development, and long-term community benefit. With renewed federal priorities around critical infrastructure and defense readiness, the Halaco sie now stands poised to become a lithium-ion battery manufacturing and testing hub that strengthens the grid supporting military bases and data-center operations while creating high-quality local jobs.

Role & Approach

Coordinator and Strategic Convener (2011–present)

● Collaboration first: I convene decision-makers across government, industry, and community to align environmental remediation with durable economic outcomes.

● Adaptive leadership: As opportunities evolved—from early reclamation concepts to today’s advanced energy focus—I continuously reframed the vision, kept partners at the table, and secured technical and policy alignment.

● Stewardship with accountability: Every step integrates environmental cleanup, community health, and equitable development into the business case.

Phase I — Early Vision & Stakeholder Alignment (2011)

Introduced to the Halaco Superfund site in 2011, I initiated a comprehensive conversation around land cleanup, metals reclamation, and a potential desalination facility to address regional water needs. Recognizing the site’s complexity, I organized a June 2011 convening with representatives from:

● State & Federal: Assemblymember Julia Brownley (via Louise Rishof), Assemblymember Das Williams (via Jeannette Sanchez), Congresswoman Lois

● Capps (via Carla Castilla & Rachel V. Kondor), Senator Fran Pavley (via Kara Seward, phone).

● Local: County Supervisor Kathy Long (via Lauren Bianchi), Oxnard City Councilwoman Carmen Ramirez, Oxnard Mayor Pro Tem Dr. Irene Pinkard.

● Community & Environmental: Economic Development Center (Karen Krus), Santa Barbara Channelkeeper (Kira Redmond), Environmental Defense Center (Karen Kraus), CAUSE (Beatriz H. Garcia).

Outcome: While initial concepts did not advance to implementation, the process established durable relationships, clarified regulatory pathways, and proved that remediation and redevelopment can be mutually reinforcing. It also created a shared framework for evaluating new uses as the market and policy context shifted.

Phase II — Energy Resilience & U.S. Navy Engagement (2023–present)

Leveraging the earlier coalition and updated federal priorities, I have refocused Halaco’s redevelopment on defense-relevant energy storage:

● Visionary realignment: Reframed the site as a lithium-ion battery manufacturing and integration campus capable of addressing grid vulnerabilities at military installations and high-load facilities (e.g., data centers).

● Strategic coordination: Sustained engagement with local, state, and federal officials; facilitated dialogue between U.S. Navy stakeholders, city/county leadership, and community groups to synchronize environmental, permitting, and industrial development steps.

● Policy & funding readiness:Authored an executive summaryarticulating environmental, economic, and national-security value; prepared briefings for elected offices and agencies to position the project for appropriations, incentives, and public-private investment.

● Environmental stewardship: Continued insistence on remediation milestones, health protections, and sustainable site design so benefits accrue first to Oxnard residents and businesses.

Impact to Date

● From liability to lever: Repositioned Halaco from a legacy liability to a strategic brownfield-to-clean-tech opportunity aligned with federal energy and defense goals.

● Coalition durability: Maintained a trusted table where government, industry, and community can plan, problem-solve, and stay aligned through market and policy shifts.

● Investment signals: Established a roadmap that makes Halaco investable—clear use case (battery manufacturing and testing), credible partners, permitting awareness, and community engagement.

What This Enables (Near- to Mid-Term)

● Energy resilience: Deployed storage that hardens base-adjacent grids and stabilizes critical loads (missions, hospitals, data centers).

● Jobs & workforce: A pipeline of skilled manufacturing and maintenance jobs, apprenticeship tracks, and partnerships with regional colleges and training providers.

● Replicable model: A national template for redeveloping environmentally compromised land into high-impact, defense-relevant infrastructure.

● Community value: Measurable local benefits—air and soil quality improvements, living-wage employment, and neighborhood reinvestment.

Near-Term Roadmap (12–24 Months)

1. Remediation & Readiness: Lock remediation schedule, define clean parcels/phase lines, and publish an environmental compliance matrix.

2. Site Planning & Entitlements:Complete master plan for a battery manufacturing & testing campus (utilities, logistics, safety, and buffer design).

3. Defense Alignment: Formalize Navy use-case requirements (resilience metrics, test protocols, supply-chain thresholds) and execute letters of interest/intent.

4. Capital Stack & Incentives: Blend federal/state incentives, private capital, and potential DoD/DOE instruments; structure community benefit agreements.

5. Workforce Consortium: Stand up a regional training consortium with apprenticeship pathways, prioritizing Oxnard residents and underrepresented workers.

6. Community Engagement: Quarterly public briefings; transparent milestones; environmental health safeguards; local vendor pipeline.

7. Pilot & Scale: Launch a pilot production/test line with safety and certification protocols; phase to full-scale manufacturing upon pilot success.

Key Measures of Success

● Resilience: MW/MWh of storage deployed; measured reductions in outage risk for priority facilities.

● Economic: Jobs created/retained, median wages, local-spend share, and supplier diversity.

● Environmental: Remediation milestones achieved; emissions and waste reductions versus baseline.

● Community: Training completions, job placement rates, and neighborhood quality-of-life indicators.

Closing

For more than a decade, I have kept the Halaco vision focused, inclusive, and execution-oriented. Today, with defense and energy priorities aligned, Halaco can become a cornerstone of U.S. energy resilience—delivering clean industry, skilled jobs, and a safer grid while proving that environmental justice and national security can move forward together.

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