# EPA Reaches $6.6 Million Settlement Getting Groundwater Cleanup San Gabriel Valley Superfund Site

- Link: https://greenlivingguy.com/2012/05/epa-reaches-6-6-million-settlement-getting-groundwater-cleanup-san-gabriel-valley-superfund-site/
- Published: 2012-05-15T18:15:36-04:00
- Author: greenlivingguy

**Cleanup has removed 4,600 lbs of contaminants from one of the most polluted sites
in the U.S.**

LOS ANGELES – The U.S Environmental Protection Agency has entered into three settlements
totaling $6,605,080 to help pay for groundwater cleanup at the South El Monte portion
of the San Gabriel Valley Area 1 Superfund Site in Los Angeles, Calif. Since EPA
began cleaning up this site in 2008, approximately 4,600 pounds of contaminants 
have been removed from the groundwater.

EPA has recovered a total of $25 million for the South El Monte cleanup, with the
latest $6.6 million to pay for extraction and treatment of groundwater polluted 
with industrial solvents such as TCE (trichloroethylene) and PCE (perchloroethylene),
a chemical once common in dry cleaning operations.

“EPA remains committed to pursuing parties responsible for environmental damage 
in the San Gabriel Valley,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator 
for the Pacific Southwest. “So far, more than ten billion gallons of water have 
been treated to provide safe drinking water for the local communities.”

The three settlement claims were brought by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf
of EPA and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control against eleven 
current or former landowners and operators of business facilities that contributed
to the contamination in South El Monte.

The first of the recent consent decrees was entered in the federal District Court
on April 13, 2012. The second and third consent decrees were lodged on May 15, 2012.
All three resolve liabilities for contamination.

The eleven responsible parties are Quaker Chemical Corporation; Art Weiss, Inc.;
Astro Seal, Inc.; Craneveyor Corp.; EBA, Inc. D/b/a Earl Butler & Associates; M&
T, LLC; Mary Brkich; New Air, Inc.; Pacific Coast Drum Co.; Seachrome Corporation;
and Linderman Living Trust A.

The San Gabriel Valley Area 1 Superfund site was placed on the National Priorities
List in 1984, and overlays approximately eight square miles of solvent-tainted groundwater
in the areas of South El Monte, El Monte and Rosemead. The San Gabriel Valley is
a suburban, largely-developed portion of Los Angeles County containing more than
one million residents and covering more than 170 square miles.

EPA signed an interim Record of Decision with the goal of containing contaminated
groundwater at the site in 2000 and issued an Explanation of Significant Differences
to address new contaminants in 2005. The San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority
implements the cleanup under a Cooperative Agreement with EPA. The agreement funds
groundwater extraction and treatment systems operated by the City of Monterey Park,
San Gabriel Valley Water Company, and Golden State Water Company.

Sources: For more information on the San Gabriel Valley Superfund Area 1 Site, please
visit: [http://www.epa.gov/region9/southelmonte](http://www.epa.gov/region9/southelmonte)

Copies of the consent decrees will be available at: [http://www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html](https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees)

Follow the U.S. EPA’s Pacific Southwest region on Twitter: [http://twitter.com/EPAregion9](https://mobile.twitter.com/EPAregion9)

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