In 2005, Environment California worked to speed cleanup of dangerous drinking water pollution in the hardest hit communities of the state. Partnering with local government, water providers and Asm. John Laird (Santa Cruz), Environment California worked to pass the Safe Drinking Water for Communities bill (AB 1421).
Due to decades of careless industry storage and disposal practices, rocket fuel pollutes more than 350 local California drinking water sources and the Colorado River that millions of Californians depend on. According to health reviews conducted by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and other state agencies, rocket fuel at concentrations above one drop in a billion drops of water can threaten the health of pregnant women and newborn infants.

Cities affected by rocket fuel pollution
Two of the communities most harmed by rocket pollution are the city of Rialto, in southern California and the area of San Martin in northern California. A deadly legacy of pollution from the defense and road flare industry has left a third of the city of Rialto’s drinking water wells unusable due to contamination and threatens to shut down the city’s remaining water supplies. In San Martin, the road flare manufacturer, Olin Corporation, has leaked the rocket fuel chemical perchlorate into more than 1,000 backyard wells, threatening the way of life that local residents have enjoyed for decades.

This contamination has been blamed for looming water shortages in Rialto, and significant drops in property values in San Martin, and has raised enormous public concern regarding the health impacts of exposure to the chemical.

Despite the threat of contamination to these communities, polluters continue to delay cleanup of their waste. More than eight years after the discovery of perchlorate, the main component of rocket fuel, pollution in Rialto and three years after the discovery of the pollution in San Martin, those responsible have yet to commit to removing rocket fuel completely from the drinking water sources of the communities.

Polluters should provide clean water
According to legislation passed by Environment California in 2002 (SB 1004), local officials could end this delay by requiring polluters to provide communities with safe replacement water until they fully clean up their mess. Such "replacement water orders" would get people safe replacement water immediately and also accelerate cleanup because polluters don’t want the added cost of indefinitely paying to supply communities with drinking water. Water replacement orders issued against polluters that dumped MTBE into the drinking water wells of Santa Monica, for example, accelerated cleanup negotiations.

Ignoring the intent of the Legislature in passing SB 1004, however, the California State Water Resources Control Board limited when replacement water orders can be issued. Siding with polluters in an April decision, the State Water Board ruled that polluters are given a ‘free pass’ to pollute up to drinking water health thresholds and standards set by other state agencies, regardless of local circumstances. This decision prevented local governments from issuing a replacement water order for all contaminated wells in the San Martin area and the city of Rialto. Such a ruling incorrectly interpreted existing statute and contradicted the long-standing policy of the Water Board to require polluters to take responsibility for all the contamination they create.

Most disturbingly, the decision forced community members to either drink water contaminated by rocket fuel or shoulder the cost of purchasing alternative, pollution-free water. In order to clarify existing law, reverse the State Water Board decision, and protect community members from rocket fuel pollution in their drinking water, Environment California worked with Asm. Laird, the city of Rialto and the Santa Clara Valley Water District (a water provider in the San Martin area), to craft the 2005 Safe Drinking Water for Communities Bill. The bill clarified that local officials can hold polluters accountable for all the contamination they dump into a drinking water supply and that in order to fully protect the public from contamination, local officials can require polluters to provide replacement water for any contaminated well.

To build support for the bill, Environment California directly advocated to decision-makers, worked with the media to publicize the need for the legislation and mobilized public support. We also built partnerships with water utilities and local governments throughout the state.

Cities take a stand

Voicing concern over rocket fuel contamination of local drinking water supplies, city of Rialto leaders this summer passed a series of resolutions calling for full cleanup of contamination. Working with Environment California’s coalition partner, the Center for Community Action and Environmental Justice, the Rialto Unified School District and San Bernardino Unified School District also passed resolutions calling for increased polluter accountability.