8 Firms to Clean Drinking Water

More than two decades after the discovery of dangerous chemicals in the San Gabriel Valley’s drinking water, eight of the companies held responsible agreed Monday to pay for the $250 million cleanup.

The tentative settlement reached by attorneys for the companies and water suppliers with the help of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency provides for construction and operation of six plants to clean up contaminated water beneath Azusa, Irwindale and Baldwin Park.

Those plants would cost a total of $80 million to build and would operate for 15 years at a cost of $14 million a year. Once working, they would clean a combined 38,250 gallons per minute. They are expected to be operating within 2 1/2 years, said Bob Kuhn, chairman of the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority.

“We are very excited. For the first time, we will now go into a room and instead of everyone being on the opposite side of the table, we will be able to design a cleanup project,” said Kuhn, whose state agency is party to the agreement.

During the 1950s and ‘60s, defense plants in the area and other heavy industry allowed industrial solvents to leak into the soil and contaminate the ground water. The plume of contamination has reached 31 public wells, each of which were shut off as it reached them. Water suppliers have been forced to import Colorado River water, which cost far more than local ground water.

For more than two years, the companies and water suppliers have argued over the cleanup of the water, part of a massive aquifer that serves more than 1 million people.

As they argued, the contamination moved toward the Whittier Narrows, threatening the ground water in the southeastern part of Los Angeles County.

Ratcheting up the tensions, local water companies, the Water Quality Authority and elected officials including Sen. Barbara Boxer in recent months have called on the EPA to fine polluters after they missed a federal deadline for a settlement.

“I’m pleased a settlement has been reached so that the cleanup process can move forward,” said Boxer, who pressured the EPA for an agreement.

Kuhn said the companies’ representatives initialed the deal but some still must get their corporate boards’ approval.

Officials at Aerojet GenCorp. will pay the largest portion of the cost in connection with the plant it owned in Azusa.

“Our counsel has recommended signing,” said Rosemary Younts, a senior vice president.

“We are pleased we reached an agreement. Aerojet’s share is major, and this will enable us to get this issue behind us.”

The other companies are Azusa Land Reclamation Co. Inc., Fairchild Holding Corp., Hartwell Corp., Huffy Corp., Oil & Solvent Process Co., Reichold Inc. and Wynn Oil Co.

The companies have the right to sue to recover a fair share of the project’s costs from 11 others that have refused to join the negotiations, despite an EPA order that names them as responsible parties.

The area beneath Azusa, Baldwin Park and Irwindale is one of five pockets of ground water in the San Gabriel Valley designated Superfund sites by the EPA in 1984, giving them special priority for cleanup and federal funds.

The cost soared in 1997 when perchlorate-hazardous byproduct of rocket fuel was detected and linked to Aerojet’s plant. A process was developed to deal with it, and another toxic substance, known as NDMA or n-nitrosodiumethylamine typically used by defense contractors.