CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SAN FRANCISCO : Army Reports on Presidio Wastes

Turning the Presidio into a national park will eliminate 1,800 jobs but not problems posed by toxic wastes on the 1,270-acre outpost, the Army said in a draft environmental impact statement. The Army also warned that San Francisco faces a rancorous debate over what to do with a 36-acre Public Health Service hospital site that is being considered for several uses, from a AIDS-care facility to apartments, offices or a college. The rest of the Presidio has at least 85 tainted sites, some of which “may require long-term remediation” that could delay transfer of land to the National Park Service. A complete investigation of toxic dumping on the base is not due before December, 1992, more than a year after the final Environmental Impact Statement is to be published.