EPA Settles With Shell To Recover $29.5 Million For Cleanup at Fullerton Superfund Site

LOS ANGELES – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency or EPA Aug. 10, announced a $29.5 million cost recovery settlement with Shell Oil Company for the ongoing cleanup of waste and contaminated groundwater at the McColl Superfund Site in Fullerton, California.

Shell was found liable by a federal court for the cleanup and disposal of contaminated waste at the McColl Superfund Site. The principal contaminants of concern are benzene, metals, and a volatile chemical known as tetrahydrothiophene. As one of the responsible parties for the contamination, Shell has agreed to pay $29.5 million to resolve its share of costs that the federal government incurred through the cleanup process to date. Shell will also pay 58 percent of EPA’s future cleanup costs.

EPA and its partners at the Department of Justice covered the up-front costs of some of the prior investigation work done at the site, studies and planning to determine a remedy, the costs of litigation, as well as the costs to have EPA officials oversee the cleanup work that Shell and other responsible parties conducted to make sure it was done in accordance with the Superfund law.

A consent decree formalizing the settlement was lodged in the Central District of California federal district court on Aug. 6 by the U.S. Department of Justice. The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court. The consent decree can be viewed at: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.  

Background

From 1942 to 1946, the 22-acre McColl site in Fullerton was a disposal area for petroleum refinery waste. During that period, 72,600 cubic yards of waste were deposited in 12 unlined pits, or sumps. During the 1950s and early 1960s, in an attempt to control site odors, the operator covered the three sumps with drilling mud. In the late 1950s, during the nearby construction of a golf course, the operator covered six additional sumps at the lower end of the property with natural fill materials. Placement of additional soil cover on the remaining sumps took place in 1983. Residences were later built on land next to the site. Eventually, the golf course expanded to include the site.

Residents complained to regulatory agencies about odors and health issues beginning in 1978. The McColl site was added to the Superfund National Priorities List in 1983. EPA selected a cleanup remedy focused on capping the site to prevent water from infiltrating the waste, preventing the wastes from moving off-site, preventing contact with buried wastes, and collecting and treating gasses generated by the wastes. Following construction of the remedy, operation, maintenance, and monitoring activities began and will continue because waste remains at the site. 

Details: www.epa.gov/superfund/mccoll

UN Report Underscores Threats Climate-Driven Disasters Pose to California’s Homeland Security

On August 9, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change or IPCC released a new report highlighting the scientific evidence behind the accelerating global climate crisis and the implications it has for extreme weather and disaster events.

The report comes as California is experiencing more frequent, reoccurring and record-setting heat events and continues to actively respond to multiple concurrent threats posed by record wildfires, historic drought, energy instability and a generational pandemic.

California’s Homeland Security Strategy prioritizes protecting Californians against the effects of climate change. This week Cal OES also began updating the California State Hazard Mitigation Plan to focus on reducing or eliminating potential risks and impacts of climate-driven disasters in order to promote faster recovery and a more resilient state.

The UN IPCC report follows California’s own scientific assessment that the state is one of the most “climate-challenged” regions of North America.

Governor Gavin Newsom’s 2021/22 budget plan included $2 billion to fight and prevent wildfires and an additional $1.3 billion climate resilience package to prepare for extreme heat, sea level rise, and environmental priorities like toxic site clean-up, and pollution control.