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Environmental Disaster Rocks Rialto, CA: $50 Million Settlement Reached
A dozen settling parties, including Emhart Industries and Pyro Spectaculars, Inc. (PSI), as well as the cities of Rialto and Colton and County of San Bernardino, have agreed to a $50 million settlement to clean up contamination at the B.F. Goodrich Superfund Site in San Bernardino County, California.
The Superfund site, used to store, test and manufacture fireworks, munitions, rocket motors and pyrotechnics, was added to the EPA’s National Priorities List in September 2009. The area’s groundwater is contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchlorate, resulting in the closure of public drinking water supply wells in the communities of Rialto and Colton.
“After decades of harmful groundwater contamination and following protracted and costly litigation, the parties responsible for releases of TCE and perchlorate at the BF Goodrich Superfund Site have agreed to a comprehensive long-term plan to clean up the contaminated groundwater at the site,” said Assistant Attorney General Ignacia S. Moreno. “The commitment made under the consent decrees announced today will provide immeasurable benefits to the environment and the communities who live in Rialto and Colton, California.”
Under one agreement, Emhart will perform the first portion of the cleanup, estimated to cost $43 million over the next 30 years. A significant portion of these funds will come from other settling parties, including the Department of Defense, which will pay $8 million to the cities of Rialto and Colton.
The settlement includes the following entities: Emhart Industries Inc., Black & Decker Inc, American Promotional Events Inc., the Department of Defense, the Ensign-Bickford Company, Raytheon, Whittaker Corporation, Broco Inc., and J. S. Brower & Associates Inc. and related companies, as well as the cities of Rialto and Colton and the County of San Bernardino.
As part of the second agreement, six entities, including PSI and its former subsidiary, will pay a combined $4.3 million to the EPA toward cleanup at the site and $1.3 million to the cities of Rialto and Colton and San Bernardino County.
TCE is an industrial cleaning solvent, while perchlorate is an ingredient in many flares. Drinking or breathing high levels may cause damage to the nervous system, liver and lungs. The cleanup efforts will focus on restoring the impacted communities’ drinking water sources.
Key Facts
- State: Federal
- Category: Environmental Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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