Companies to Pay for Cleanup of Groundwater at Montrose Superfund Site Following Settlement

WASHINGTON – On Sept. 30, 2021, three settlement agreements were approved by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California. Under the agreements, Montrose Chemical Corporation of California, Bayer CropScience Inc., TFCF America Inc., and Stauffer Management Company LLC have agreed to pay $77.6 million for cleanup of contaminated groundwater at the Montrose Chemical Corp. Superfund and the Del Amo Superfund Sites in Los Angeles County, California.

The companies will also investigate potential contamination of the historic stormwater pathway leading from the Montrose Superfund Site, south of Torrance Boulevard. Another company, JCI Jones Chemicals Inc. will participate in the groundwater cleanup.

The settlements not only provide for cleanup and investigation, but also collectively resolve active litigation in a case that has been pending for more than 30 years under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, commonly referred to as Superfund). From 1947 to 1982, Montrose operated the U.S.’s largest manufacturing plant for the pesticide DDT (dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane).

The settlements require the companies to pay for and implement cleanup remedies and perform an investigation with federal and state oversight. The companies will also reimburse EPA more than $8 million and California DTSC more than $450,000 for costs already incurred.

Each settlement addresses specific activity to address cleanup of the sites:

The first settlement requires pumping and treating the groundwater to federal and state cleanup standards and then reinjecting the treated water back into the ground.

The second settlement will bring about treatment of the soil to address historical releases that are an ongoing source of groundwater contamination. Air monitoring will be performed to ensure there are no impacts to the surrounding community.

The third settlement requires investigation of potential contaminant releases in the historic stormwater pathway leading from the Montrose Superfund Site, south of Torrance Boulevard. This settlement will be used to determine if there is contamination in the pathway that may require cleanup.

The settlements are memorialized in three consent decrees.

Details: For information on these Superfund sites, visit the Del Amo Los Angeles, CA Superfund site profile web page at https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0901293 

And the Montrose Chemical Corp. Torrance, CA Superfund site profile web page at https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0901293.