Firms Will Pay $66 Million for Waste Cleanup

Nearly 120 companies and government agencies that sent hazardous waste to the Operating Industries Inc. dump in Monterey Park will pay $66 million to help clean it up under an agreement announced Wednesday by state and federal officials.

Daniel W. McGovern, regional administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, called the agreement “a landmark for the Superfund program.”

The companies will reimburse the EPA $18.5 million and the state Department of Health Services $762,000 for cleanup work already done. McGovern said this is the largest cost recovery in the history of the federal Superfund program.

In addition, the companies, which include some of the nation’s largest corporations, will provide $34 million worth of work and nearly $13 million in additional cash for future cleanup efforts.

Large as the settlement is, it represents payment for only a partial cleanup of the site, which covers 190 acres and is bisected by the Pomona Freeway. EPA officials said the cleanup cost could reach $200 million to $300 million eventually.

McGovern said the dump, which has been on the federal Superfund list since 1986, is “one of the most complex and contaminated sites in the nation.”

Closed in 1984

The dump opened in 1948 and took in liquid hazardous waste as well as municipal trash until 1984, when it was closed amid complaints about odors, the accumulation of landfill gas and other environmental problems.

The EPA has been monitoring and cleaning up the site since 1986 when the owner, Operating Industries Inc., said it could no longer afford to maintain the property.

McGovern said the agreement providing $66 million reaffirms one of the principles of the Superfund program, which “is that those responsible for contamination should bear the expense of cleaning it up.”

McGovern joined with U.S. Atty. Robert C. Bonner and Kenneth Kizer, director of the state Department of Health Services, in announcing the agreement, which was filed in federal court as settlement to the government’s civil claim.

More than 60 other companies have refused to contribute to the cleanup. McGovern accused them of “trying to shift the burden of the cleanup to the taxpayer,” and said the EPA is preparing administrative orders requiring a number of them to participate.

In addition, Lisa Haage, regional counsel for the EPA, said that settlement discussions are under way with Operating Industries to determine its responsibility for cleanup costs.

The settlement announced Wednesday involved 60 companies that have formed the OII Steering Committee to do $34 million worth of work at the landfill, plus 53 other companies and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, which have agreed to cash settlements.

Payments of Cash

The cash amounts range as high as $5.9 million from Atlantic Richfield Co., $5.7 million from American National Can Co. and $4.9 million for Exxon Corp. Times Mirror Co., publisher of the Los Angeles Times, agreed to pay $172,800. The Department of Water and Power will pay $440,800.

Haage said the amounts were based on the volume of hazardous waste sent to the landfill. The Operating Industries dump was authorized to receive liquid hazardous waste from 1976 to 1984.

Haage said the EPA has not specified how much must be contributed by the individual companies in the OII Steering Committee, leaving it to them to raise the $34 million. But J. Jeffrey Zimmerman, steering committee chairman, said some companies will pay amounts in the millions.

Committee participants include seven of the 10 companies identified as the largest shippers of hazardous waste to the dump. They are Chevron, Texaco Inc., McDonnell Douglas Corp., Union Oil Co. of California, Sun Exploration and Production Co., NI Industries Inc. and Occidental Petroleum. The Southern California Rapid Transit District also is a member.

Plans for Controls

The committee will maintain and improve the system to control landfill gas, take steps to control rainwater runoff and prevent erosion, and construct a plant to treat leachate, which is water in the landfill that is contaminated with chemicals. The work will be done over a five-year period. David A. Giannotti, counsel for the steering committee, said several of the companies in the group have experience with environmental cleanup and would rather do the work themselves than simply pay money to the EPA. The entire project, however, will continue to be supervised by the EPA.

Problems at the dump have included the migration of landfill gas into surrounding neighborhoods, emissions of gases containing vinyl chloride and other harmful substances, and the accumulation of leachate.

Kizer said that despite the problems with the dump, “there has not been any demonstrable health effects” to nearby residents.

The EPA is conducting a long-term study to fully define the environmental problems at the dump and outline plans. The study is scheduled for completion in late 1992.

Neighbors’ Viewpoint

McGovern said those companies that have agreed to pay for the initial cleanup could still face additional costs when the final plan is developed.

Hank Yoshitake, a leader of a group of residents who fought for closure of the dump and its cleanup, said he is delighted with the settlement announcement.

Yoshitake said conditions for residents near the dump have improved since the EPA began supervising the site. Odors were so strong years ago, Yoshitake said, that residents could hardly bear it. But now, he said, “You can sleep with the windows wide open. We can have parties outside.”