EPA Orders Tests of Water at McColl Site

The federal Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday ordered five oil companies and the owner of the former McColl toxic waste dump to test ground water in the area for possible contamination.

EPA’s order gives the oil companies and the owner of the McColl site 45 days to draft a plan for testing the water or face a fine of up to $25,000 a day.

Representatives of the companies--Shell Oil, Union Oil, Atlantic Richfield, Texaco, and Phillips Petroleum--will meet soon to agree upon a response to the order, said William Duchie of Shell Oil Co., spokesman for the five oil companies. Once the response is ready, the companies will meet with EPA officials to discuss it, Duchie said.

Owner of the McColl site, McAuley LCX Inc., could not be reached for comment Wednesday. The company also owns the neighboring Los Coyotes Country Club in Buena Park.

The EPA’s order came after the oil companies refused a request in February to voluntarily conduct the tests to see if wastes from McColl are contaminating the ground water. The EPA holds the oil companies and McAuley potentially liable for cleaning up the wastes at McColl, which was used as a dump for refinery wastes during World War II.

Instead of complying with the EPA’s request, the oil companies presented a plan to close off McColl by sealing the wastes underground and monitoring the site indefinitely.

“We offered to do the (ground water) study, do site maintenance, site security as well as closure, feeling it was more appropriate to do the entire process (at one time), bringing the site to a logical conclusion,” Duchie said.

The oil companies have repeatedly said that sealing the wastes at McColl is the best solution and have offered to pay all costs of that plan. The EPA, on the other hand, has said that the wastes must be removed, which probably will involve digging up an estimated 150,000 tons of waste and burning it.

If the oil companies and McAuley LCX refuse to submit an acceptable plan to monitor the ground water at McColl, the EPA probably will sue them, EPA spokeswoman Ida Tolliver said Wednesday. EPA’s order, mailed last week, tells the oil companies and McAuley to monitor the ground water and issue monthly reports to the EPA.

Previous ground water tests at McColl have shown some contamination, but not at levels that would be harmful to humans.

The EPA plans to conduct a test dig at McColl, June 6-26, to determine whether digging up the wastes is possible and whether that process will release harmful chemicals into the air. The dig will involve all steps short of actually burning the wastes, EPA officials said.

The EPA is still searching for the best method to rid McColl of the wastes and is scheduled to release its plan in March.