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November 15, 2005 250,000 commercial real estate transactions nationwide annually. The rule's process of evaluating a property for potential environmental contamina- tion and assessing potential liability for any contamination at the property increases certainty of Superfund liability protection, and improves information about environmental conditions of properties. EPA noted that over the last decade EPA's brownfields program has attracted more than $7 billion in public and private investments for the cleanup and redevelopment of brownfield properties in cities and towns across the nation, creating more than 33,000 thousand jobs. During this time, more than 7,000 properties have been assessed for environmental contamination. For info: Kerry Humphrey, EPA, 202/ 564 -4355 or email: humphrey.kerry @epa.gov; EPA website: www.epa.gov / brownfields/ GW CLEANUP CA DRINKING WATER The Justice Department and EPA announced October 26 that sixteen firms will pay a combined $14.9 million for cleanup costs at the San Gabriel Valley Area 2 Superfund site. The 16 companies involved in today's settlements will pay $14.5 million to the U.S. and $346,000 to the State of California. EPA's cleanup calls for removing contaminants from approxi- mately 30 million gallons per day of contaminated groundwater in and near Baldwin Park, California, benefiting the drinking water source for some 85,000 households. Beginning in the 1940's, compa- nies started using various chemicals at the site that have now contaminated the area's groundwater. Contaminants include trichloroethylene (TCE) and perchloroethylene (PCE), volatile organic compounds that can affect breathing and nervous systems, and perchlorate, a component of rocket fuel that may affect the thyroid. The Baldwin Park area and three adjoining areas of groundwater contamination were declared The Water Superfund sites in 1984. The Baldwin Park area cleanup addresses an area of groundwater contamination more than eight miles long and 1,000 feet deep. The settlements follow an earlier agreement between nine of the 16 companies and seven local water agencies that is helping guide the cleanup. More than $100 million has been spent in the last three years alone on the construction and operation of four large water treatment systems to clean the groundwater and provide a safe source of drinking water to area residents and businesses. The groundwater cleanup, one of the largest in the country, has been a cooperative effort involving the EPA, the State of California, and seven local water agencies. The 16 companies are: Aerojet- General Corporation; Allegiance Healthcare Corporation; Azusa Land Reclamation Co. Inc.; Fairchild Holding Corp.; Hartwell Corporation; Huffy Corporation; Leach International Corporation; Lockheed Martin Corpora- tion; Mobil Oil Corporation; Oil & Solvent Process Company; Phaostron Instrument and Electronic Company; Philip Morris USA Inc.; Reichhold Inc.; the Valspar Corporation; White & White Properties; and Winco Enterprises Inc. The settlements also cover several related entities. EPA noted in its announcement that it will continue to oversee cleanup work at the site and the other San Gabriel Valley Superfund sites to protect and restore the San Gabriel Basin as a vital source of drinking water for Southern California. The San Gabriel Valley Superfund site settlements are described in seven consent decrees lodged today with the US District Court in Los Angeles and one bankruptcy settlement lodged with the US Bankruptcy Court in Ohio on September 20, 2005. The settlements accomplish three goals: to reimburse state and federal government for their initial efforts to investigate and clean up the contamination; to obtain cash payments from seven of the companies that had not participated in the earlier agreement with the water agencies; and to provide commitments to pay future EPA costs of overseeing the cleanup. Lockheed Martin Corporation, Mobil Oil Corporation, the Valspar Corporation, and Phaostron Instrument and Electronic Company will pay additional amounts for their failure to perform work required by a June 2000 EPA Order. The additional amounts make up $1.5 million of the $14.5 million to be paid to the federal government. Copies of the consent decrees and bankruptcy settlement are available at DOJ's website: www.usdoj.gov /enrd/ open.html. For more information on the EPA's Superfund program, please visit their website: www.epa.gov/ superfund/index.htm. For info: Lisa Fasano, EPA, 415/ 947 -4307 CWA FINE AK INACCURATE REPORTING EPA's Northwest regional office has announced that International Seafoods of Alaska, Inc. (ISA) has agreed to pay a $20,000 penalty for violations of the federal Clean Water Act. The company submitted numer- ous inaccurate wastewater discharge reports from its Kodiak, Alaska facility over a two year period. EPA issued a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit to ISA in 1998 that allows for discharge of a limited amount of fish processing waste into St. Paul Harbor in Alaska. The permit also requires daily monitoring of the discharges and regular reporting to the EPA. According to the Consent Agreement and Final Order, Interna- tional Seafoods submitted ten reports between July 2000 and July 2002 showing that it exceeded its discharge limits for certain pollutants including oil and grease. Later, the company produced information indicating that all the reports were prepared based upon outdated waterflow estimates and were, therefore, inaccurate. ISA submitted corrected reports which showed only one exceedance of the monthly average for oil and grease in February 2002. For info: Chae Park, EPA, 553 -1441 Copyright© 2005 Envirotech Publications; Reproduction without permission strictly prohibited. 25