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Lockheed Martin Corporation and Honeywell International, Inc. are jointly now required by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to pay $21 million to expand groundwater treatment and conduct additional groundwater contamination studies at the San Fernando Valley Area 1 Superfund site. The EPA recently finalized three orders requiring the work.
The first order, requires Honeywell International, Inc., to construct four extraction wells on the western portion of the North Hollywood Operable Unit (NHOU) site and build a treatment system for 1,4-dioxane, hexavalent chromium and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from the area that will prevent additional groundwater contamination. The project will cost about $10 million and is scheduled to be completed in 2019.
The Lockheed Martin Corporation was issued the remaining two orders. The first will require the company to design, construct, and operate four extraction wells for the eastern portion of the NHOU to address VOCs preventing further migration of existing groundwater contamination. It will be completed around 2020 and will cost approximately $10 million.
The EPA is now modifying its 2009 record of decision to clean-up groundwater contamination at the NHOU portion of the site. The modifications include increased groundwater extraction; expanded treatment plant capacity that will treat the additional extracted water; and the decision to transfer some of the extracted groundwater from NHOU to the Burbank Operable Unit (BOU) treatment plant.
The second Lockheed order requires the company to conduct a focused feasibility study at the BOU site. Groundwater conditions and contaminant migration at the site have changed due to fluctuation in water levels. As part of the focused feasibility study, Lockheed will collect data from the site to determine the most current extent of groundwater contamination which will be used to develop and evaluate any necessary alternatives for remediation to prevent further contamination of the site. The study will cost up to one million dollars and is slated for completion in 2019.
“These important actions bring us ever closer to ensuring safe groundwater supplies for decades to come,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Mike Stoker. “We will continue to work with the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power and the Los Angeles Water Quality Control Board to implement a full and thorough cleanup.”
The EPA has been working to clean up groundwater contamination in the San Fernando Valley since the early 1980s when solvent pollution was first discovered. The site was placed on EPA’s Superfund list in 1986 and consists of two areas: The Burbank Operable Unit (BOU), located primarily in Burbank and south of the Burbank airport; and the North Hollywood Operable Unit (NHOU), located to the west of the BOU. Groundwater treatment systems have been operating since 1989, removing TCE, PCE, 1,4-dioxane, and other volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from groundwater in the North Hollywood area.
Lockheed Martin Corporation and Honeywell International, Inc. are both owners and operators of former aerospace manufacturing facilities in the San Fernando Valley which released contaminants including TCE, PCE, hexavalent Chromium, and/or 1,4-dioxane into the groundwater.
