EPA, Oil Firms Grapple Over Fullerton Cleanup

Although the Environmental Protection Agency is increasingly allowing companies that created toxic waste sites to prepare their own cleanup plans, the solutions being proposed for the McColl toxic waste dump in Fullerton were prepared by state and federal agencies.

But the EPA and the oil companies believed responsible for creating the World War II-era dump disagree on which solution is best for McColl.

Based on studies conducted by the EPA and the state health agency, four separate plans have been proposed to clean up the site.

The EPA’s “preferred” method is the most stringent and involves digging up and burning the toxic waste, at an estimated cost of $117 million to $300 million. The companies support the least extensive option--sealing the wastes in the ground beneath a permanent cover--at one-fifth the cost.

The EPA, which intends to hold the companies responsible for performing and paying for the cleanup, will make its decision on the method next spring. While the companies have offered to pay for the “capping” solution, they have said they will refuse to pay for a more stringent cleanup and, if sued by the EPA, believe that they would win in court.

State and federal environmental agencies began studying McColl and devising ways to prevent the estimated 150,000 tons of wastes from getting into the air or water in 1980, before the EPA typically turned those tasks over to the suspected polluters, an EPA spokesman said.

But EPA officials are trying to force the companies to conduct a study to determine whether toxins have gotten into ground water. The oil companies have offered to pay for the study and maintenance costs, but they refused last week to do the work themselves, citing potential exposure to lawsuits should unexpected environmental problems be uncovered.