Placer County supervisors have approved a plan to clean up a former law enforcement gun range in Lincoln, located across from the Sun City Lincoln Hills 55+ community. The $5.1 million project will remove lead and other debris and restore the soil to meet residential environmental standards.

Roughly $750,000 has already been spent on assessments. The plan includes a $3.7 million budget for contracted labor and work is expected to begin later this summer, once a contract is awarded. The plan is expected to be completed by the fall.

The board previously selected the residential cleanup option in 2022, following a presentation by Eric Findley, the county’s real estate services manager. That method, which involves off-site storage of contaminated soil, was the most expensive of the proposed approaches but was recommended due to its long-term benefits.

“Cleaning up to residential standards and hauling it off-site is the most conservative (option) in the sense that it would provide the most flexibility for future use of the property,” Findley told the board. “It would increase the value of the property and I think it would ... lessen the chance of litigation in the future.”

The pricing estimates were developed by Sacramento-based Provost & Pritchard Consulting Group, which also prepared the project for contract bidding. The board approved a $400,000 contract extension for the firm as part of Tuesday’s action.

The county has owned the site since 1968. The gun and skeet ranges, once used to train police officers, have been closed since 1999. In addition to lead, the county’s staff report notes the site includes bullet and clay pigeon debris that must be removed to meet residential standards.

Supervisors Cindy Gustafson and Shanti Landon commended the Department of Facilities Management’s work on the project, which has gone back to at least 2017.

Landon, whose district includes Lincoln, commended the staff’s efforts:

“It’s very important for the Lincoln community that this remediation project move forward to ensure this site is safe for future generations,” said Landon, whose district includes Lincoln.