Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board Reaches Agreement with Boeing

The Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board voted unanimously to approve an agreement with Boeing Co. to ensure polluted storm water is not flowing into local creeks and the Los Angeles River after cleaning up the toxic Santa Susana Field Laboratory.

According to The Los Angeles Times, the agreement requires Boeing to monitor storm water draining into the Calleguas Creek watershed for 195 pollutants after the company completes its cleanup of the 2,850-acre site in southeastern Ventura County. Boeing must test for the contaminants in waterway outfalls for at least 12 storm events. The levels of pollutants must not violate federal water quality standards or background levels.

Then, in the event of no violations, the water board can release Boeing from these regulations.

The field lab grounds show traces of heavy metals and radioactive contaminants after industrial activities from Boeing, Rocketdyne, NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy. These entities used the site as a proving ground for rocket engines for space exploration and nuclear reactors for power after World War II. These contaminants migrated off site and have been observed in the local creeks that feed into the Los Angeles River, reported The Los Angeles Times.

Boeing, NASA and the Energy Department are each responsible for cleaning up different areas of the site. These parties and the state entered into a 2007 consent decree to clean up the site and minimize the risk of cancer to 1 additional case of cancer for 1 million exposures. 

The state’s Department of Toxic Substances Control oversees the company’s remediation of soils and groundwater, but the cleanup standard has not been decided.

“Today’s vote clears the way for a stringent cleanup at one of the nation’s most polluted sites and is a monumental step forward after decades of stalled progress,” said DTSC Director Meredith Williams in a statement, reported The Los Angeles Times. “DTSC is grateful for the Water Board’s careful consideration and looks forward to working together to see this cleanup to completion.”

Boeing was fined for polluted water discharges near the site, which in November 2018, approximately 80% of the Santa Susana Field Lab site burned while wildfire devastated Woolsey Canyon, which is considered one of the most destructive wildfires in L.A. County. Rain then swept through the area and subsequent monitoring found unsafe levels of pollutants including: cyanide, copper, lead, arsenic and dioxins, reported The Los Angeles Times. Boeing paid $25,750 for the elevated levels of TCDD, which can cause cancer.

Boeing entered into conservation easements that permanently dedicate nearly 2,400 acres as natural habitat.

Elected officials, environmental organizations and residents are urging the board to postpone or reject the agreement due to concerns, according to The Los Angeles Times, including: Boeing would only monitor and regulate only a fraction of the legacy pollutants at the site; Boeing is administering the testing; there are more than 300 pollutants in the soils, groundwater and surface waters; and the mandated 12 storm events are estimated to occur over five years.

Melissa Bumstead is a West Hills resident and founder of Parents Against the Santa Susana Field Lab. She said her group has independently identified 81 cases of pediatric cancer within the 10-mile radius, reported The Los Angeles. Bumstead's daughter was diagnosed with a rare and aggressive form of leukemia in 2014. 

“We certainly don’t want toxic chemicals in our kids’ water,” said Bumstead, reported The Los Angeles Times. “We want their water to be as safe as possible. Regardless of whether or not Boeing finds that convenient. Our children eat fruits and vegetables grown in water that can be polluted by the SSFL. They drink the water, bath in it, cook with it and play with it. Having safe, clean water is vital to their health and quality of life. And our children’s lives are more important than politics or Boeing’s profit margin. We live here. I live here. This is our home. A faster but weaker cleanup doesn’t help us.”