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GOOD FENCES MAKE GOOD NEIGHBORS
More barbed-wire fencing has been erected in southeast Chico in recent weeks in an indication that toxic waste at the old Humboldt Road Burn Dump site, at the southeast corner of Bruce and Humboldt roads, has poisoned more land than originally thought. On orders from the state Regional Water Quality Control Board, property owners Dan Drake and Ed Simmons have fenced off additional parcels where testing has shown toxic levels of lead. One of those parcels was apparently contaminated 14 years ago, when a contractor allegedly used waste material to build a stock pond dike. The other parcel probably was contaminated by a battery recycling operation. Stilson Canyon residents researching the history of the dump brought evidence of the battery recycling to the attention of city officials, prompting the extended testing. Additional caution signs were also being posted earlier this week. Here, Jason Benesio of M&M Fence works to build the fences.