CALIFORNIA IN BRIEF : SACRAMENTO : Air Force Ordered to Protect Aquifers

The California Environmental Protection Agency ordered Castle Air Force Base in Merced County to prevent contaminated ground water from spreading further into municipal wells. The administrative order, a prerequisite for legal action, was issued after military officials warned California that they may soon have to stop pumping and treating the contaminated water because of lack of funds, according to state EPA officials. Military officials complain that work on identifying contamination has already been slowed or halted at 17 bases in California slated for closure. At eight of those bases, including the Long Beach Naval Air Station, contamination has already been confirmed. The situation is particularly acute at Castle because cancer-causing solvents have seeped into wells used by a nearby trailer park and threaten a deeper nearby aquifer.