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$4.8 MILLION STRINGFELLOW SUPERFUND AGREEMENT IS REACHED

Release Date: 5/9/1996
Contact Information:

RELEASED JOINTLY BY U.S. EPA, DOJ AND THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: May 9, 1996

Contacts:

Paula Bruin Carol Levitsky
U.S. EPA U.S. Attorney's Office
(415) 744-1587 (213) 894-6947

Joe Irvine
DTSC, Cal/EPA
(916) 324-3110

$4.8 MILLION STRINGFELLOW SUPERFUND AGREEMENT IS REACHED

(San Francisco)--The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (U.S. EPA) the U.S. Department of Justice, (DOJ) and the state of California today announced a proposed settlement with over 100 persons or entities to resolve their liabilities as generators of waste disposed of at the Stringfellow Acid Pits Superfund site, Glen Avon, Calif. The proposed settlement was filed by U.S. Attorney Nora M. Manella in the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

"This settlement is consistent with U.S. EPA's effort to ensure that parties who have contributed small amounts of waste are able to resolve their liability and avoid additional transaction costs," said Keith Takata, U.S. EPA's Superfund division director. "These funds will be used to operate a treatment plant to clean up and protect the groundwater in the Glen Avon community."

"This makes sense for all parties involved, as it will enable us to push ahead with our commitment to provide environmental protection for the local residents," said Jesse R. Huff, Director of the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control. "We hope that it signals forward progress in our efforts to assume the long-term cleanup responsibilities at Stringfellow."

"Today's settlement is another milestone in our ongoing effort to clean the contaminated groundwater caused by the dumping of hazardous wastes at the Stringfellow Acid Pits," said Manella. "This agreement is an example of the U.S. Attorney's office's continued commitment to enforcing our nation's environmental protection laws."

"Today's agreement makes good on this administration's pledge to clean up Superfund sites while making sure that small contributors of waste are treated in a fair and equitable way," said Lois J. Schiffer, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Department of Justice's Environment and Natural Resources Division.

The total settlement value is approximately $4.8 million. U.S. EPA proposed this settlement under the de minimis authority of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (Superfund) because these parties sent very small quantities of waste to the site. Collectively, these parties contributed less than one percent of the total waste disposed of at the acid pits, which is minimal in comparison to the hazardous materials that other parties sent to the site.

U.S. EPA is soliciting comment on the settlement during a 30-day public comment period. Written comments should reference United States v. J.B. Stringfellow, Jr. et al, Civil Action 83-
2501 (JMI). The public should send written comments to:

Assistant Attorney General
Environment and Natural Resources Division
Department of Justice
P.O. Box 7611
Ben Franklin Station
Washington, D.C. 20044

In the early 1980s, California designated the Stringfellow site as its highest priority site. Since that time state and federal agencies have responded to the complex problem created by the underground migration of industrial wastes. Government actions taken to date have controlled and treated the contaminants in the groundwater so that they do not currently pose an immediate threat to nearby residents.

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