Gashouse cove
A place where contamination can be seen bubbling to the surface
and
where PG&E bribed RPD to save money instead of protecting the environment
Overview
Gashouse cove is the historic and commonly used name for a small boat harbor in the Marina district of San Francisco. The sediment, or sand, under the water and the soil in the surrounding areas contain large quantities of coal tar from the manufactured gas plants that operated nearby. Gashouse cove’s official name is “San Francisco Marina East Harbor” which differentiates it from a larger yacht harbor to the west. Both harbors, and a large part of the Marina’s residential area, were part of a very wide, crescent-shaped cove when the gas plants were built. In terms of where contamination is located, there is no meaningful distinction between Gashouse cove and the surrounding land.
A boat owner took video of an oil-like substance bubbling to the surface of Gashouse cove and gave it to the harbor master. The harbor master gave the video to his superiors at the Recreation and Parks department and they gave a copy to the Water Board. The location was near a dog-leg in the shoreline in an area where high concentrations of hazardous chemicals associated with the gas plants had been found fifteen years earlier, but no one paid much attention at first and it was suggested the boat owner was a troublemaker.
After a few years, PG&E agreed the substance bubbling to the surface was indeed contamination from their gas plants.
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