The State - News from Dec. 7, 1986

Computer giant IBM has proposed a $30.8-million plan to clean up the largest ground water pollution problem in the San Francisco Bay Area at its plant in south San Jose, officials said. Ray Kerby, IBM director of environmental programs, proposed the cleanup as the most practical of six other cleanup alternatives. The cleanup plan must be approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, the state Department of Health Services and the state Regional Water Quality Control Board. The company has already spent $25 million on monitoring wells to define the boundaries of the underground contamination, which was discovered in 1980. IBM has spent another $25 million to prevent future ground water contamination and to remove 65 underground storage tanks, which were suspected of causing the pollution through leaks.