What's New
On May 31st, United States Senators Barbara Boxer
and Dianne Feinstein submitted a joint letter to the State Water Board
calling for polluters to pay for cleanup of perchlorate pollution in
Rialto region.
To view the letter, cut and past the following link into your web browser:
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/wqpetitions/docs/a1824rialto/polstatements/boxer_feinstein1.pdf
The
letter was submitted to the State Water Board as part of a hearing to
be held in August to determine whether to adopt a proposed order to
clean up perchlorate pollution in the Rialto region. If adopted, the
proposed order will take the biggest step to date toward restoring
clean water to the City of Rialto since contamination was discovered in
the region nearly ten years ago. The proposed order requires Goodrich
Corporation, Black and Decker Inc. and fireworks company Pyro
Spectaculars to:
Stop the spread of perchlorate contamination throughout the region;
Pay for full cleanup of all contamination within the aquifer;
Foot the bill for providing a safe supply of drinking water until cleanup is complete.
How You Can Help
Attend the State Water Board hearing to clean up toxic rocket fuel pollution in Rialto drinking water sources
Brief Summary
Rocket Fuel Pollutes Rialto's Drinking Water Sources
Nestled
beneath the San Bernardino Mountains, the City of Rialto is a small
working-class community located about an hour east of L.A. The largest
employer in this mostly Latino and African American working class
community is the local school district (1).
According to local officials, the City of Rialto once boasted some of the cleanest drinking water in region (2).
Nearly
ten years ago, however, local water officials discovered the major
ingredient in rocket fuel in the aquifer that supplies much of Rialto’s
drinking water (3).
Also
known as perchlorate, local state and federal officials have indicated
that they believe that one of the ways in which the toxic ended up in
the water supply was through seepage into several of the town’s
drinking water wells from a nearby industrial site once owned by
Goodrich Corporation and Black & Decker (4). Levels of
contamination detected reached more than 1,500 times safety thresholds
issued in other states (5). Studies
have shown that at levels found in many contaminated wells, perchlorate
can cause health effects associated with conditions like attention
deficit disorder, learning disabilities and decreased IQ (6).
Officials
believe that the problem began back in the 1950s and 1960s when both
companies owned and operated manufacturing plants in the northern part
of Rialto that used massive quantities of rocket fuel. According to
former employees at the facility, workers regularly disposed of rocket
fuel in unlined pits behind the plant and dumped perchlorate-containing
waste on the ground (7).
Despite
the companies’ combined yearly sales of more than $12 billion, years of
negotiation, the need for cleanup and demands by state and local
officials, Goodrich Corporation and Black & Decker have refused to
clean up the mess, as requested by officials.
As
cleanup is delayed, contamination continues to spread, residents pay
increased water utility rates to fund temporary cleanup measures and
legal action against parties believed to be responsible; and local
water supplies are further strained.
The
California State Water Board has the power to force polluters
responsible for contaminating Rialto’s drinking water supply to clean
up their mess.
This
July the Board will hold a hearing to decide whether to issue a strong
cleanup order against Goodrich Corporation and Black & Decker. If
issued, the order could mandate more than $200 million in cleanup
costs, making it one of the largest ever issue by the State Water Board.
Environment
California Research & Policy Center believes that this final order
should require Goodrich and Black & Decker to apply some of their
enormous resources to pitch in and clean up the rocket fuel pollution
in Rialto’s drinking water. An ideal order would require entities
found to responsible for pollution to:
1) Clean up the rocket fuel pollution to as close to zero as is technologically feasible;
2) Provide a safe, alternative perchlorate-free waters supply to affected residents until cleanup is complete;
3) Fully reimburse the residents of Rialto for cleanup costs already paid;
4) Require strict penalties for polluters if cleanup is delayed further
The
California State Water Board has the authority to mandate all these
cleanup measures. To protect the community and ensure that rocket fuel
pollution in Rialto’s drinking water supplies is cleaned up, the Board
should use these tools immediately.
Notes
(1) City of Rialto, “Demographic and Income Profile,” downloaded from http://www.ci.rialto.ca.us/redevelopment_784.php, 2 May 2007; City of Rialto ‘Top Employers,’ downloaded from http://www.ci.rialto.ca.us/redevelopment_794.php, 2 May 2007
(2) City of Rialto, City Council Resolution August 2 2006, downloaded from http://www.ci.rialto.ca.us/citycouncil_1412.php
(3) California Department of Health Services, “Early Perchlorate Monitoring Results,” downloaded from www.dhs.ca.gov; West Valley Water District, Water News 2006, downloaded from http://www.wvwd.org/dynamicdata/docs/200610201612141_2.pdf
(4)
Goodrich Corporation, then known as B.F. Goodrich, owned and operated a
facility on the ‘160 acre site’ from 1957 to 1963. (Draft
Administrative Settlement Agreement Between the California Regional
Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region and Goodrich Corporation;
A corporate relative to Black & Decker owned and operated a
facility on the ‘160 acre site’ from 1952-1957 (California Regional
Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana, Proposed Cleanup and Abatement
Order No. R8-2005-0053) The site has since been owned by several
additional parties. As such, additional parties considered potentially
responsible for contamination of drinking water wells in the region by
the California Regional Water Quality Control Board, Santa Ana Region
include the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Denova Environmental,
American Promotional Events, Mr. Ken Thompson, General Dynamics
Company, Zambelli Fireworks Manufacturing Company, Raytheon Company and
Whittaker Corporation. (5)
California Department of Health Services, Perchlorate in Drinking
Water: Monitoring Update; Office of Research and Standards
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection, Interpretive
Differences Between Massachusetts’ and California’s Perchlorate Health
Assessments, May 2004; (6)
Office Of Research And Standards Massachusetts Department Of
Environmental Protection, Interpretative Differences Between
Massachusetts’ and California’s Perchlorate Health Assessments, May
2004; Office Of Research And Standards Massachusetts Department Of
Environmental Protection Perchlorate Toxicological Profile And Health
Assessment, May 2004.
(7)
Declaration of John Kase, August 27, 2002, Attachment 4, Directive to
Proceed with Initial Phase of Perchlorate Investigation in the Vicinity
of the Former Goodrich Facility, City of Rialto, San Bernardino,
California, California Regional Water Quality Control Board Santa Ana
Region, September 24, 2002; Deposition of Ronald Polzein, Santa Ana
Regional Water Board Draft Order R8 2005-0053
