FILLMORE : Texaco Cleanup May Cost $3.5 Million

Texaco Inc. could pay up to $3.5 million to clean up contamination from a former oil refinery in Fillmore, Environmental Protection Agency officials have announced.

The agency said the cleanup will be accomplished by extracting ground water and filtering it through activated carbon, the choice of the EPA among seven alternatives. The costs of remedial action ranges from $500,000 to $8 million. The operation will include a one-year soil study to monitor the breakdown of hazardous residues by naturally occurring organisms.

The refinery operated from 1920 to 1950 east of Pole Creek. Wastes from the refining process were deposited in unlined pits, which EPA officials said was a common practice during that period.

Since contamination was discovered on the site in 1980, Texaco has spent about $2 million investigating the problem, said Barbara Kornylo, a spokeswoman for the company. Texaco voluntarily removed 38,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil in 1986, Kornylo said. But an EPA study completed last December found hazardous chemicals such as benzene, arsenic and cadmium in local ground water and soil samples.

“We’ve tried to be forthright and responsible about this,” Kornylo said. “We hope to continue cooperating with the EPA.”

Although the toxins were present in low levels that the agency considers minimally hazardous to the public, EPA officials said the cleanup was necessary for the site to meet state and federal environmental standards.

No date has been set for the cleanup, said Norman Calero, EPA community relations coordinator.