House Votes Full Funding of Rockwell Facilities Cleanup

The cleanup of radioactive and chemical contamination at Rockwell International facilities southeast of Simi Valley will probably receive about $11.8 million in the next fiscal year in an energy and water spending bill approved Friday by the House of Representatives.

The figure represents the full sum proposed for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1 under the Department of Energy’s six-year, $37.3-million plan to clean up the site. The department will use the funds to remove chemical and radioactive contamination, found mostly at low levels in soil and buildings, and to upgrade pollution controls on equipment at Rockwell’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory.

Some of the funds also will be spent on ground-water testing at Rockwell’s De Soto Avenue plant in Canoga Park, where the firm has handled chemicals and, in the past, conducted nuclear operations, including the manufacture of nuclear fuel.

Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Simi Valley), whose 21st District includes the field laboratory, said he is pleased with the funding levels and vowed to continue his efforts to ensure that the cleanup continues on schedule, press secretary John Frith said.

“At this point, everything looks good,” Frith said.

The energy and water bill, negotiated by a House and Senate conference committee last week, contains a total of $3.15 billion for Department of Energy environmental restoration and waste management projects nationwide. This includes defense as well as non-defense facilities.

The bill does not break down projected spending for individual sites, but Frith said energy officials indicated that the overall funds in the measure would permit them to allocate all of the funds proposed for the Rockwell cleanup.

The Department of Energy had initially projected $9.8 million in the next fiscal year for the 25 separate Rockwell projects in the West San Fernando Valley, but increased the figure to $11.8 million when President Bush submitted his proposed 1991 budget to Congress.

The measure is expected to be passed by the Senate and sent to Bush for his signature in the next week.