Companies Expected to Pay Millions to Clean Dump

Within a few months, treasurers of some of the nation’s largest corporations will write checks for hundreds of thousands--and in a few cases millions--of dollars to help pay for the cleanup of a closed dump in Monterey Park.

The checks, written to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state Department of Health Services by 51 companies and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power, will total more than $21.3 million. They will be followed over the next three years by payments of more than $9.6 million.

At the same time, a group of 60 companies and the Southern California Rapid Transit District will hire experts and spend $35.9 million to take over daily management of environmental controls at the dump site.

But as large as these amounts are--one of the largest monetary settlements in the history of the EPA’s nationwide toxic cleanup program--the flow of money to protect the public from hazardous waste at the Operating Industries Inc. landfill is just beginning.

Thousands of Companies

EPA officials say they plan to pursue claims against thousands of companies that shipped waste to the OII dump. And companies that have already agreed to spend millions for the initial stages of the cleanup can expect further demands from the EPA as the work proceeds.

But some of the companies identified by the EPA as responsible for hazardous waste say it will be hard for them to pay the amounts demanded by the agency.

Jeff Jerome, vice president of Southwest Processors Inc. in Vernon, said his company, which makes cattle feed out of animal fat and vegetable oil, faces a $400,000 bill from the EPA.

Jerome said his company sent sludge, clay and other harmless waste to OII, but because the EPA is basing assessments on waste volume without regard to the content of the waste, his company’s bill is enormous.

Banks are unwilling to loan money for that sort of expense, Jerome said, and thus far his insurer has refused to acknowledge liability.

Simply put, Jerome said, “Our problem is that we don’t have the money.”

Bill Donahoe, who owns Vernon Truck Wash, said the EPA has asked his company, which has 52 employees, to pay more than $300,000. OII records indicate that the company sent 470,000 gallons of waste to the dump, but Donahoe said it was harmless mud and sludge washed off trucks.

Donahoe said he will defend himself in court if the agency presses its demands. “All I know is that if they sue me (and win), they’ve got themselves a truck wash,” he said.

Lisa Haage, EPA regional counsel, said there is a public misconception that only materials that “sound toxic” are classified as hazardous waste. Actually, she said, the list is much broader, and includes solvents used to wash planes and trucks.

Payment Problems

While some types of hazardous waste may be more harmful than others, Haage said, it is often impractical to differentiate in assessing liability.

She said there is no doubt that the ability to pay will be a problem for some companies. “OII is a very expensive site,” she said.

At a press conference last month, Daniel McGovern, EPA regional administrator, described OII as “one of the most complex and contaminated sites in the nation.”

EPA officials said the cleanup is complex because of the huge volume of waste buried at the site and the fact that the dump is located in a populated area, with homes hugging its perimeter. The main portion of the dump, 145 acres, is located on the south side of the Pomona Freeway, bordering Montebello. An older section of the dump occupies 45 acres north of the freeway.

Creation of Leachate

Problems at the dump have included odors, buildup of methane gas, emission of vinyl chloride and other toxic chemicals, and the creation of leachate, contaminated liquids that can seep into ground water.

OII, which was opened in 1948, took in large amounts of liquid hazardous waste from 1976 until it was closed in 1984. OII records show that the dump received more than 230 million gallons of hazardous waste, including petroleum products, paint, ink, foodstuffs and cleaning solvents.

After the dump was closed, its owners stopped paying for the control of landfill gas and leachate. The state, and later the EPA, took over management of the site.

Haage said more than 4,000 companies sent hazardous waste to the landfill, but that 80% of the waste came from 189 sources. About two-thirds of those sources, including oil refineries, industrial and chemical plants and food processors, have agreed to either pay cash or perform work at the dump. The amounts range from $15,000 from the Coca-Cola Co. to $5.9 million from Atlantic Richfield Co.