EPA’s Change in Plans Could Speed Water Cleanup

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday proposed changes in its plan for treating chemically tainted ground water in Burbank, a step officials said could hasten the start of cleanup under the federal Superfund toxic sites program.

The changes reflect the discovery of unsafe nitrate concentrations in the ground water, and the need to reduce them along with chemical pollution before Burbank city wells can again be used for drinking water.

The cleanup plan announced a year ago called for pumping and treating up to 12,000 gallons per minute of solvent-tainted ground water, which could be provided directly to Burbank residents.

However, the treatment methods used to purge solvents from the water would not remove the nitrates, prompting the change proposed Wednesday.

The key proposed change calls for blending the water with other supplies to reduce nitrate concentrations. This will probably mean mixing with supplies from the Metropolitan Water District, which has furnished all of Burbank’s water since municipal wells that could supply about 20% of Burbank’s needs were idled by pollution about four years ago.

The blended and treated water would be processed at more than 12,000 gallons a minute. Under the new proposal, water that Burbank doesn’t use could be reinjected into the ground.

The EPA proposal, which is open to public comment through Aug. 23, said nothing about who will pay for and manage the $77-million, 20-year cleanup, the subject of months of negotiations between the EPA and several private firms.

EPA officials would say little about the state of negotiations. But a Burbank water official said Wednesday’s announcement provides hope of a quick resolution, in the form of an agreement or a formal cleanup order from EPA to the companies.

“I think it’s going to help the project move ahead,” said Fred Lantz, water system manager for the Burbank Public Service Department. Lantz said he was “very hopeful” that a consent decree or cleanup order will be issued by August or September.

An EPA official said negotiations had been delayed by technical problems with the cleanup plan, which should be resolved by the proposed changes. “It will really give the agency back its momentum,” she said. “We feel we can go forward either with an agreement, if we reach one, or . . . an enforcement order.”

EPA officials said the cause of the high nitrate levels is uncertain, although septic tanks, fertilizers and certain chemicals can cause nitrate pollution. High nitrate levels are a matter of concern because they can cause an illness in infants known as “blue baby syndrome.”

It was not nitrates, but chemical solvents, principally perchloroethylene (PCE) and trichloroethylene (TCE), that caused Burbank and other parts of the San Fernando Valley ground water basin to be designated as Superfund sites.

PCE and TCE, used to de-grease metals and dry clean clothes, are suspected carcinogens. While amounts found in the ground water pose no immediate threat of illness, health experts believe they could slightly raise the risk of cancer for persons consuming the water over many years.

The EPA more than a year ago designated 31 Burbank-area companies as “potentially responsible” for ground water contamination due to mismanagement of chemicals over the years. The agency asked them to contribute to the cost of building and running treatment works.

Many of the firms said there was no evidence they were involved, and only a handful of “good faith” settlement offers were received, according to the EPA.

The agency has been negotiating since last fall with those who made the offers, including Lockheed Aeronautical Systems Co., Weber Aircraft Co. and Stainless Steel Products Inc.

Cleanup work could be done under a consent agreement or enforcement orders from EPA. If an agreement is reached with some companies, they, or the EPA, are likely to bring legal action to compel others to contribute cleanup funds.