EPA Searches for Additional Water Polluters

Environmental Protection Agency officials said Tuesday that they are looking for additional San Fernando Valley industrial firms that may be responsible for ground water pollution.

The EPA will continue to send to Valley firms questionnaires seeking information on current and past chemical use and disposal. The questionnaires are part of the effort to track down more companies that may be liable to help pay for an estimated $100 million cleanup of ground water under the federal Superfund program.

Already, seven Burbank and North Hollywood firms have been informed that they may be required to help pay for the cleanup if further evidence links them to contamination.

In addition, 22 other firms in Burbank, North Hollywood and Sun Valley have been notified that they are under review and may be added to the list of the seven “potentially responsible” firms.

“We first sent notification to those firms that we thought were our highest priority,” said Paula Bisson, an EPA section chief responsible for the cleanup program. “But we are continuing to send out requests. . . . Just because we don’t know about a firm one day doesn’t mean we can’t bring it in later.”

Her comments came at an EPA workshop Tuesday at Burbank City Hall that was attended by officials from the 29 firms that have been contacted. Several representatives questioned why only their firms had been identified as potential polluters.

‘Must Move Forward’

Under federal law, the EPA is not required to identify every potential polluter before beginning a cleanup program, said Jon Wactor, an EPA attorney.

“We have reached a point where we must move forward,” Wactor said. “There is a spreading plume of ground-water contamination that has to be dealt with.”

The Valley wells are among 800 sites nationwide listed for cleanup under the Superfund program because they are contaminated by two common industrial solvents believed to raise the risk of cancer slightly if consumed in small amounts over long periods of time.

The Superfund pays for cleanup of toxic-waste sites when polluters cannot be identified.

Officials expect to send additional questionnaires early next year and encouraged those at the meeting to report industrial firms that should be questioned.

“We can’t go after firms we don’t know about,” Bisson said.

Officials said they are continuing to gather evidence from soil testing. Firms determined to have contaminated ground water will be notified in January, Bisson said.

Those firms will be ordered to work out a payment plan with the EPA to clean up contaminated wells. If a firm fails to negotiate with the EPA, it could face a lawsuit asking that it be forced to pay for cleanup, Wactor said.

Several company representatives said they are conducting tests to show that they are not responsible for contamination, while another said he is taking a “wait and see” approach.

“We are a small company and don’t have a lot of money to run tests,” said Frank Nerren, owner of Valley Enamelling Corp., one of the seven “potentially responsible” firms.

Eugene Fox, general manager of Pacific Airmotive Corp., another of the seven firms, said he will contact the EPA to find out what he should do.