Community Grew Strong Over McColl

* You are correct. McColl is definitely a textbook case of Superfund cleanup projects. However, the McColl project is not a total failure. Yes, the process has gone on too long. Yes, there has been significant acrimony among all the parties over the past 14 years. Yes, large amounts of money have been spent, perhaps unwisely. Yes, the cross-claims are mired in litigation. Yes, few are completely satisfied with the progress of the cleanup. Welcome to Superfund!

Yet something very significant has changed at our site over the past three years: The community has been recognized as a stake holder. The homeowners vigorously and vocally lobbied for action with letters, through elected officials, and in many public meetings. Finally, both the Environmental Protection Agency and the oil companies saw an opportunity and actively sought the involvement of the community in the site closure process. More than only listening to the desires of the community, the EPA and the [oil companies] are actually incorporating our desires for land use into the final closure plans. The likelihood that the capped site will return to use as part of an adjacent golf course is very high. The community has clearly and consistently expressed this desire to the EPA and the [oil companies] and they have responded in good faith to that desire.

If the Superfund Program is ever to succeed, the agency must assure that all the stake holders at each site reach consensus. The community is always a critical stake holder--they must live with the result forever.

CHARLES R. BENNETT

Technical Adviser

Fullerton Hills Community Assn.