THE REGION : 11 Firms to Share Cost of $2-Million Cleanup
A group of 11 companies, identified by federal officials as contributing to ground water contamination in the San Gabriel Valley, will pay $2 million toward a cleanup, officials announced last week in Baldwin Park.
The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation also announced it will contribute $975,000 to help pay for the preliminary stages of the cleanup of tainted water beneath Baldwin Park, Azusa and Irwindale, the location of the most heavily polluted ground water in the San Gabriel Valley.
The total bill for the cleanup, which is being overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is expected to exceed $100 million, with the 11 companies continuing to contribute.
Industrial solvents and other pollutants, some of which are known to cause cancer, were discovered in San Gabriel Valley aquifers more than 15 years ago. As a result, the valley’s entire ground water basin was designated a federal Superfund site for priority cleanup in 1984. Under Superfund regulations, polluters are required to remedy the problem.
In January, the EPA named the 11 firms, including Aerojet General Corp., as having contributed to the ground water pollution. Negotiations continue over the total the firms will be obliged to contribute.
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