Department of Water Resources
A daily compilation of significant news articles and comment
April 3, 2008
4. Water Quality
CLEANUP:
EPA sets timeline to clean oil spill - Associated Press
LAWSUIT SETTLED:
PG&E settles final lawsuits over chromium 6 poisoning - LA Daily News
CLEANUP:
EPA sets timeline to clean oil spill
Associated Press – 4/4/08
LOS ANGELES -- An official with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated Thursday that cleanup of an oil spill in
The EPA's Robert Wise said excavation of petroleum-contaminated soil in a
The federal agency announced earlier this week it was taking over the site, saying Greka Oil & Gas Co. has not removed the tainted soil in the two months since the spill.
Greka has contended that the EPA's assessment was inaccurate and misleading. The company added that it replaced its original contractor with another environmental cleanup company, but the EPA rejected that company's health and safety plan.
Wise said Thursday that Greka was cooperating with the EPA.
Greka has had three spills at the site since last summer.
The cleanup is expected to cost Greka $900,000.
Greka is one of the smallest oil producers in the state and started operations in 1999, taking over aging operations from major oil companies and turning crude into asphalt and other products. Local, state and federal officials have said the company has not spent enough money to improve the facilities, something the company disputes.
Broken pumps and pipes and cracked tanks at Greka installations have led to spills totaling more than a half-million gallons of oil and contaminated water.
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department has responded at least 400 times to Greka oil spills and gas leaks, resulting in fines, citations, federal and local prosecutions and EPA investigations. #
LAWSUIT SETTLED:
PG&E settles final lawsuits over chromium 6 poisoning
LA Daily News – 4/3/08
Associated Press
Pacific Gas & Electric Co. will pay $20million to settle the last in a series of lawsuits that claimed it was responsible for poisoning water in the Mojave Desert town of
The agreement finalized last week in
The settlement was the latest involving a series of suits that said PG&E contamination sickened hundreds of people in Kings,
The 2000 movie "Erin Brockovich" was based on a 1996 case that ended with a $333million settlement on behalf of more than 600 Hinkley residents.
Two years ago, PG&E agreed to pay $295million to settle other lawsuits involving about 1,100 people.
The final lawsuit was filed about seven years ago.
"It wasn't just the people who lived by the (PG&E) plant who were affected but everyone living in Hinkley," said Stephen Wainer, an attorney for the defendants.
PG&E spokesman Jon Tremayne said the settlement ends the final lawsuits against the company over chromium 6 pollution in the region.
Tremayne said the chemical was dumped into unlined ponds in the 1950s before anyone knew of the potential danger.
"Clearly, what happened in Hinkley should not have happened, and we're sorry that it did," Tremayne said Thursday. "It's not the way we do business, and it wouldn't happen in our company today." #
http://www.dailynews.com/search/ci_8802837?IADID=Search-www.dailynews.com-www.dailynews.com\
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