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Eleven companies agree to pay $8.25 Million to clean up Los Angeles area Superfund site

Release Date: 9/20/2005
Contact Information: Francisco Arcaute, (213) 244-1815, Cell: (213) 798-1404

LOS ANGELES -- Under the terms of a recently entered consent decree, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will receive over $8.25 million from eleven companies who allegedly contributed to groundwater contamination at the Puente Valley Operable Unit of the San Gabriel Valley Superfund site in Los Angeles County, Calif.

The U.S. v. Acorn Engineering Company, et al. Consent Decree was entered by the District Court for the Central District of California on September 8, 2005. The money can be used to fund EPA's groundwater cleanup costs. The EPA site cleanup plan calls for pumping and removing contaminants from a major drinking water source.

"The entry of the Consent Decree gives us funds which EPA can use for future cleanups in San Gabriel Valley," said Keith Takata, director of the EPA's Pacific Southwest Superfund Office. "The EPA is committed to ensuring that parties responsible for contamination pay to address it."

The Consent Decree was the first settlement reached at this site. Under its terms, the defendants agreed to reimburse a portion of the EPA's response costs, which the EPA can use to fund future cleanups. These settling parties were or are owners or operators of sources of releases of hazardous substances at the site. The EPA is currently negotiating other agreements to clean up the groundwater.

The groundwater cleanup plan calls for installing a network of wells and treatment systems. The systems currently are being designed to prevent contaminated groundwater from migrating further. The EPA estimates that approximately 3,420,000 gallons per day will be treated by the system. Treated water may be provided to a local water supply distribution system or discharged to surface water.

The Consent Decree was entered as final judgment against the following settling defendants: Acorn Engineering Co; Aerosol Services Co., Inc.; Walter K. Lim, Sylvia Lim and Nancy Lim; GOE Engineering Co.; Hexcel Corp.; Lansco Die Casting, Inc.; C. Roy Herring/Miriam Herring Trust; Herring Investments, LLC; Somitex Prints of California, Inc.; Union Pacific Railroad Co; and Utility Trailer Manufacturing Co.

The Puente Valley Operable Unit of the San Gabriel Valley Superfund site, Area 4, is an area of contaminated groundwater generally located beneath the City of Industry and portions of the cities of La Puente and Walnut. The area was placed on the National Priorities List, a list of the highest priority sites for Superfund cleanup in 1984 because the groundwater is contaminated with volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that were formerly used for degreasing, metal cleaning and other purposes.

The contaminated groundwater associated with all of the San Gabriel Valley sites lies under significant portions of Alhambra, Irwindale, La Puente, Rosemead, Azusa, Baldwin Park, City of Industry, El Monte, South El Monte, West Covina, and other areas of the San Gabriel Valley. There are 45 water suppliers in the Valley that use the San Gabriel Basin groundwater aquifer to provide 90 percent of the drinking water for over one million people.

For more information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/superfund/