16 Firms Agree to Pay $6 Million Toward Stringfellow Dump Cleanup

Sixteen companies that dumped nearly 24 million gallons of cancer-causing chemicals at the Stringfellow Acid Pits near Riverside have agreed to pay $6 million of cleanup costs that could go as high as $880 million, regulators said.

The agreement comes 16 years after the dump closed and after nearly two years of talks between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, state health officials, representatives of the 16 companies and the former dump operator.

The 16 companies are Rohr, Alumax Inc., General Electric Co., General Steel & Wire Co., Northrop Corp., Rockwell International Corp., Stauffer Chemical Co., Montrose Chemical Co., NI Industries, Rhelm Manufacturing Co., McDonnell Douglas Corp., Quantam Chemical Co., Quemetco Inc., Weyerhaeuser Co., Deutsch Co. and Rainbow Canyon Manufacturing. James B. Stringfellow and his rock quarry operation must also pay for the work.

Talks started after a federal court decided that some of the companies must pay for the cleanup. The agreement, announced Tuesday, marks the first time the private firms involved have promised to pay for any work at Stringfellow.

‘Small Step’

“It’s a small step, but it’s the first agreement the parties have been able to reach on the site,” said Joel Reynolds, attorney for a citizens group called Concerned Neighbors in Action.

“The fact you have some cooperation suggests that as the remedial effort continues, more cooperation can be expected,” he said.

Stringfellow closed 16 years ago after nearly 35 million gallons of cancer-causing solvents, acids, pesticides and metals were dumped at the 20-acre rock quarry.

The chemicals have seeped into the soil, and an underground stream of solvents has flowed more than two miles to pollute drinking water in the Riverside County community of Glen Avon.

To combat the pollution, the companies will install five water wells on Pyrite Road, just north of California 60, to prevent the polluted water from encroaching further, said Paula Bisson, EPA section chief.

The agreement does not order the companies to pay any specific amount of money, but Bisson said plumbing and storage tanks could cost about $2.98 million. That amount includes tests of a water treatment device that mixes air and water in a tower to vaporize solvent pollution.

Another $977,000 could be spent to finish building drainage channels at the dump, and about $400,000 will be held in reserve, Bisson said.

Reimburse Fund

The companies also agreed to pay the EPA $1.4 million for reimbursement of the federal Superfund program, which paid for a small part of the cleanup.

All work done by the companies will be supervised by state and EPA officials. Construction must begin by early September and be completed in one year.

The federal and state governments have spent an additional $43 million. But in the next few years, the expenses are expected to balloon as final cleanup of the highly contaminated site is planned. Initial estimates suggest the cleanup could cost as much as $880 million.