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EPA Continues Work at San Gabriel Valley Superfund Site; Additional $1.44 Million Settlement Reached for Groundwater Cleanup

Release Date: 10/29/2012
Contact Information: Nahal Mogharabi, [email protected]

More than 12.5 billion gallons of drinking water treated, 5,500 pounds of contaminants removed thus far

LOS ANGELES - The U.S Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement of $1.44 million with TDY Industries, LLC 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, more than 12.5 billion gallons of drinking water have been treated and approximately 5,500 pounds of contaminants have been removed from the groundwater.

EPA is overseeing the extraction and treatment of groundwater polluted with industrial solvents such as TCE (trichloroethylene) and PCE (perchloroethylene), a chemical once common in dry cleaning operations. The current water treatment systems at the site operate continuously at an annual cost of more than $2 million.

“This settlement brings the total amount recovered to almost $27 million to pay for the cleanup of polluted groundwater,” said Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Our goal is to protect and restore the safe drinking water supplies for the San Gabriel Valley communities.”

TDY owned and operated a facility on Chico Ave in South El Monte that was used to manufacture metal casings and electronics and re-condition drums.

This is part of an overall $1.8 Million settlement brought by the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of EPA against TDY Industries, LLC (formerly known as TDY Industries, Inc., or Teledyne Industries, Inc.) and its affiliated entities Allegheny Technologies Incorporated, and TDY Holdings for the contributions its facility made to the contamination in South El Monte. Of the entire settlement, $1.44 million will be paid to EPA and $360,000 will be paid to the San Gabriel Basin Water Quality Authority for the groundwater treatment.

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.

The settlement, lodged in Federal District Court on October 26, 2012 as a consent decree, will be posted in the Federal Register and available for public comment for a period of 30 days. The consent decree can be viewed on the Justice Department website: www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.

For more information on the San Gabriel Valley Superfund Area 1 Site, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/region9/southelmonte