Week in Review : Major Events, Images and People in Orange County News : CITIES : New Settlement in McColl Dump Case

Another settlement--the largest so far--was announced in the long, litigious history of Fullerton’s McColl toxic waste dump.

This one was for $3.25 million, offered by housing developer J. F. Shea Co. to the owners of 39 houses that the firm built near the dump. That brought the total of settlements to $8.75 million that will be paid by 17 defendants to 141 families. Some of the money is supposed to be handed over before the end of April.

Going to trial is still a possibility for two defendants and 102 families, and lawyers on both sides estimate that such a trial could last two years. One defendant, William Lyon Co., a development firm, has not indicated whether it is willing to settle.

The dump was created in the 1940s as a place to dispose of refinery wastes from the manufacture of high-octane aviation fuel. The resulting sludge contains highly toxic sulfuric acid, benzene and arsenic, state officials say.

Cleaning up the dump, which was ready to proceed last May, has been stalled by a court-ordered environmental impact study that will probably extend well into next year.