Area Gets Less Than 1% of State Cleanup Funds

Although the San Gabriel Valley has three major toxic cleanup headaches, only $800,000 of the $100-million toxic-waste bond issue approved by California voters last year has been earmarked for the valley’s problems by the Deukmejian Administration.

State officials said cleanup of the valley’s problems--toxic leaks at two dumps and ground water contamination affecting water quality in about 60 wells--will proceed nevertheless, using mostly federal funds and private money. However, Bob Borzelleri, spokesman for the state Department of Health Services, said the proposed expenditure plan for the state bond issue is “very flexible.” He said more state money than is budgeted could be spent on valley projects if the money is needed to supplement federal funding or if property owners fail to pay cleanup costs.

Much depends on how much federal funding is forthcoming for the sites, he said, and on what agreements can be made for property owners to shoulder costs.

The funds earmarked for the cleanup represent less than 1% of the bond issue total. The state plan contains $300,000 to monitor cleanup activities at the BKK landfill in West Covina, $100,000 to supplement federal funding of the cleanup of the Operating Industries Inc. landfill in Monterey Park, and $400,000 to supplement federal funds to overcome ground water contamination in the main San Gabriel basin.

Borzelleri said the valley’s cleanup needs are so great that they would consume most of the $100-million state bond issue if the state were to spend its money on them. Instead, he said, the Administration’s strategy is to channel state money to sites that can be cleaned up quickly and cheaply, getting the most benefit for the dollars spent, and relying on federal money for larger projects.

San Gabriel Valley ground water contamination is already on the federal cleanup list and the Operating Industries dump is being added.

Richard Martinez, an aide to Assemblyman Charles Calderon (D-Alhambra), said he fears that the state may be premature in cutting its own expenditures for the Operating Industries dump since it is not yet officially on the federal list.

Borzelleri said the state is assuming that Operating Industries will make the federal list because the federal government is already spending money there. The Environmental Protection Agency is spending $142,500 to drill monitoring wells to find out if soil and ground water near the dump are contaminated, $83,000 on other field work at the site and $200,000 on a study to identify the site’s problems and possible solutions.

The state has revamped its “Superfund” priority list to downgrade sites that will receive federal money. The Operating Industries landfill, which ranked 16th last year, has been dropped to 74th. The San Gabriel Valley’s four contaminated ground water areas, which had ranked as high as 12th on last year’s list, are now ranked from 126 to 142. The BKK landfill in West Covina made the list for the first time, ranking 56th.

Joel Moskowitz, deputy director for state toxic substances control, said the state will pay its share of the cost of cleanup of federally funded sites regardless of where they rank on the state Superfund list. The federal government requires the state to pay 10% of cleanup costs.

The state expenditure plan contains rough estimates of cleanup costs, listing $10 million to $30 million for Operating Industries and more than $30 million for BKK. There is no estimated cost for overcoming ground water contamination.

The state and federal governments have identified four areas of the San Gabriel main basin in which ground water is contaminated with solvents suspected of causing cancer. The contaminants include trichlorethylene (TCE), perchloroethylene (PCE) and carbon tetrachloride (CTC) and have affected wells in Alhambra, Arcadia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Duarte, El Monte, Glendora, Industry, Irwindale, La Puente and Monrovia.

The contamination was discovered five years ago. The Environmental Protection Agency has committed more than $1.7 million to a study assessing the problem and suggesting solutions. An additional $300,000 has been allocated to sample water wells and $1.5 million will be spent to help three small mutual water companies in El Monte clean up their water supply.

The Operating Industries landfill closed in Monterey Park in October amid complaints about toxic air emissions and the movement of methane gas and leachate off the site.

The BKK landfill in West Covina was closed to toxic waste disposal last year because of a number of problems, including gas migration that forced the evacuation of nearby homes. The landfill is still accepting non-hazardous waste.

Michael Miller, West Covina community services division manager, said the BKK landfill has enough room to handle municipal waste for 15 to 20 more years, and this could provide income to pay for measures to protect the environment. But, he said, the city would like to encourage another use for the property, perhaps development of light industry in the frontage along Azusa Avenue, in order to maintain revenue from the site while ending all dumping.

In Monterey Park, the city redevelopment agency is working on a plan to use 45 acres of Operating Industries’ land north of the Pomona Freeway for commercial businesses. Under the plan, the money that a developer would pay for the property would go into a fund for dump cleanup.

Assemblywoman Sally Tanner (D-El Monte), who heads the Assembly committee on toxic substances which will hold hearings on the governor’s plan for spending the $100 million bond issue, said she has reservations about it.

She said cleanup costs are unknown at many of the sites and the state is simply using “guesswork” to come up with figures. She said the governor is seeking authorization to spend all of the $100 million bond issue, based on the Superfund priority list, and thereby avoid putting the expenditures through the usual scrutiny of the budgetary process.

Perhaps, she said, it would be better to find out how much money the sites will require and incorporate the expenditures in regular budget requests.