If Kelly McAdoo was alarmed by news that four underground storage tanks had just accidentally been unearthed by city work crews three feet underground during a routine sidewalk inspection by Chapala and Carrillo streets, she wasn’t showing it. McAdoo is Santa Barbara’s newest city administrator , and Monday was her first day on the job. Underground storage tanks are never good news.
Even under the most benign of circumstances, they’re costly and cumbersome to clean up. Rarely are the contaminants involved sufficiently inert to be allowed to remain where they are. No fewer than four regulatory agencies have to sign off on whatever happens next. And all that collective decision-making can chew up time.
And in this case, there’s not much time to spare.