McColl Cleanup Long Overdue

From the time the first homes went up, the Fullerton neighborhood was so nice that it was difficult to believe it harbored one of the most toxic dumps in California. The disclosures about the danger from soil contaminated from World War II onward touched off legal and environmental battles that lasted two decades and put the McColl dump site on the federal Superfund list.

Thus it was with a feeling of relief that homeowners, politicians and federal officials last month marked another milestone in ridding the neighborhood of a noxious presence. Where fumes once rose from the ground, people are playing golf.

The McColl cleanup took too long. Somewhere along the way, compromises should have been struck. In the end, the federal government has come away empty-handed. Its attempts to cart off the waste or incinerate it failed. Its attempts to get oil companies to pay for the cleanup failed, unless a legal appeal overturns a judge’s recent decision. The oil companies wanted the waste buried and covered, which is what happened.

Residents lost faith in the ability or willingness of government to help them. The Environmental Protection Agency’s attempts to clean up sites on the Superfund list became known as a bonanza for attorneys, a nightmare for homeowners. The history of McColl should be posted prominently in government offices as an example of how not to do things.

Weary homeowners last month proclaimed satisfaction that at last the cleanup was done, although not as some had hoped. In 1996, a group of homeowners and elected officials witnessed the ceremonial ground-breaking to start the process of covering the sumps filled with waste. Last year the contaminated soil was sealed off and topped with dirt and rock. Last month came the dedication of the three holes of Los Coyotes golf course that were built atop the landfill.

That marked the latest stage in the process that started when companies producing high-octane aviation fuel dumped their refinery wastes during World War II on the land leased from oil consultant Eli McColl. In the early 1970s, houses were built nearby and the problems of bad fumes, illnesses and the threats of serious health problems began. In 1980, the federal government put McColl on the Superfund list.

Finally, homeowners may be able to live in a neighborhood as nice as its street names, Tiffany Place and Fairgreen Drive. After years of worries, lawsuits and inordinate delays, residents deserve to concentrate on golf and life’s other pleasures, not a toxic dump cleanup.