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EPA, Campbell agree on controls for Del Monte Superfund site clean up. Agreement limits land, water use, prevents soil, groundwater exposure

Release Date: 06/11/2007
Contact Information: Dean Higuchi, 808-541-2711, [email protected]

(06/11/07) HONOLULU - The U.S Environmental Protection Agency recently completed negotiations on a consent decree with James Campbell Company, LLC, owner of the Del Monte Superfund Site in Oahu, Hawaii, requiring the company to prevent exposure to contaminated soil and groundwater.

For the Kunia Village Source Area, Campbell – as the property owner – will not use the land for residences, hospitals, schools for those 21 and under, as a day care center, or other use by vulnerable individuals.

No construction will be allowed that damages or interferes with the cleanup of the groundwater and soils at the site. Campbell will not apply or be part of an application for a water use permit from a new or existing well located in the area without the EPA’s approval. The company has also agreed to make these restrictions apply to future owners of the property by including the environmental conditions in any sale agreement.

“Our agreement with Campbell prevents exposure to the public from site contaminants and prohibits activities that may interfere with the cleanup,” said Keith Takata, director for the EPA Pacific Southwest Region's Superfund Division. “This is a necessary step when the company responsible for the cleanup is not the landowner.”

In 2005, a separate consent decree was negotiated with Del Monte Fresh Produce Inc. to clean up soil and groundwater contamination.

The EPA placed the Del Monte site on the national Superfund list in December 1994 because of concern about contamination to groundwater, a source of drinking water. Officials discovered contamination from sampling of the Kunia Well in 1980 and the EPA was informed of an accidental spill of ethylene dibromide in April 1977 within 60 feet of the well. The Kunia Well was immediately disconnected from the drinking water supply system when the contamination was discovered and is no longer being used.



The settlement will be available for a 30-day public comment period. Please send comments postmarked by July 11, 2007 to: U.S. Department of Justice, Assistant Attorney General Environment and Natural Resources Division, P.O. Box 7611, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044-7611. Comments should be refer to United States v. James Campbell Company LLC., DOJ Ref. DJ#90-11-3-08277/1

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