Baldwin Park : EPA Studies Site for Plant

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which is planning a series of treatment systems to remove pollutants from ground water in the San Gabriel Valley, has tentatively identified Baldwin Park as the next area to be studied for a treatment plant.

Neil Ziemba, who directs the EPA ground-water cleanup effort in the San Gabriel Valley, said the agency will focus on Baldwin Park after developing treatment projects at Whittier Narrows, near South El Monte. The agency announced last month that it will build a $5.4-million system to remove contaminants from four wells in the Whittier Narrows area. It is also preparing a plan to treat water from other wells at Whittier Narrows and to stop pollutants from moving through Whittier Narrows to another water basin.

EPA has given top priority to work at Whittier Narrows to keep the pollution from spreading. By focusing next on Baldwin Park, EPA would begin attacking a large area of polluted ground water from Azusa, south through Irwindale to Baldwin Park.