On September 30, three settlement agreements through the Central District of California’s courts will require three companies to pay $77.6 million for contaminated groundwater cleanup.
The companies — Montrose Chemical Corporation of California, Bayer CropScience Inc, TFCF America Inc and Stauffer management Company LLC — agreed to pay for the cleanup of contaminated groundwater at the Montrose Superfund and the Del Amo Superfund sites in Los Angeles County.
The companies also agreed to investigate potential contamination of the historic stormwater pathway leading from the Montrose Superfund site. Another company, JCI Jones Chemicals Inc., will also participate in the cleanup.
The settlements not only provide for cleanup and investigation, but also collectively resolve active litigation in a case that has been pending for over 30 years under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, commonly referred to as Superfund). From 1947 to 1982, Montrose operated the U.S.’s largest manufacturing plant for the pesticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane).
“EPA continues its commitment to protecting community health and drinking water sources by cleaning up groundwater impacted by the Montrose and Del Amo Superfund Sites,” said EPA Pacific Southwest superfund and emergency management director Enrique Manzanilla. “These settlements ensure the long-term operation of the Montrose Superfund Site’s cleanup so that it is not an ongoing source of contamination.”
“For years, people in this area have been impacted by contamination from these former pesticide- and rubber-manufacturing sites, and these settlements bring them one step closer to equity,” California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Director Meredith Williams said. “We stand with the people who live, work, and play near this contamination, and we will continue our efforts to make the polluters pay for their actions.”
The settlements require the companies to pay for and implement cleanup remedies and perform an investigation with federal and state oversight. The companies will also reimburse EPA more than $8 million and California DTSC more than $450,000 for costs already incurred.
Each settlement addresses specific activity to address cleanup of the sites:
The first settlement requires pumping and treating the groundwater to federal and state cleanup standards and then reinjecting the treated water back into the ground.
The second settlement will bring about treatment of the soil to address historical releases that are an ongoing source of groundwater contamination. Air monitoring will be performed to ensure there are no impacts to the surrounding community.
The third settlement requires investigation of potential contaminant releases in the historic stormwater pathway leading from the Montrose Superfund Site, south of Torrance Boulevard. This settlement will be used to determine if there is contamination in the pathway that may require cleanup.
The settlements are memorialized in three consent decrees.
