State sued over deal allegedly weakening Boeing's cleanup at toxic site near Simi
Several environmental groups have sued the state and Boeing over what they allege is a "backroom deal" that significantly weakens the aerospace giant's cleanup standards at the contaminated Santa Susana Field Lab site near Simi Valley.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Ventura County Superior Court, charges that the "secret" negotiations that produced the agreement violate the public involvement and transparency requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act.
But Allison Wescott, spokeswoman for the California Department of Toxic Substances Control, a defendant in the suit, said in a statement Monday that while the agency doesn't comment on pending litigation, "we are confident in our legal position on the comprehensive settlement agreement with Boeing.”
The suit seeks to vacate the agreement, which was announced in May by the California Environmental Protection Agency, which oversees the department.
The EPA said the settlement will strengthen the long-delayed cleanup of Boeing's portion of the 2,850-acre toxic site, which experienced a partial nuclear meltdown in 1959. Boeing owns most of the site in unincorporated hills outside Simi Valley at the Los Angeles County border.
The settlement "prioritizes human health and the environment and holds Boeing to account for its cleanup," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in a release in May.
But the lawsuit differs. It was filed by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, Parents Against Santa Susana Field Lab and the Los Angeles chapter of Physicians for Social Responsibility.
"As a result of a secret negotiation without any input from the public, the state Department of Toxic Substances Control and Boeing sought to limit the site cleanup alternatives that would be considered by DTSC," the lawsuit alleges.
The negotiations produced an 800-page agreement that supersedes a 2007 agreement between Boeing and the state, "substantially relaxing key cleanup requirements, allowing hundreds of times higher levels of toxic chemicals than previously permitted and leaving much of the contamination onsite," the activist groups said in a release.
Under the 2007 pact, the cleanup was supposed to have been completed by the end of 2017.
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In addition to Boeing and the toxic substances control department, the suit also names as defendants Lawrence Hafetz, the agency's chief counsel, and the Los Angeles chapter of the California Regional Water Quality Control Board.
The lawsuit also seeks to vacate a memorandum of understanding adopted in August by the water quality board that activists say could ultimately lead to Boeing's surface water discharges from the site no longer being regulated.
Boeing spokesman Connor Greenwood said in a statement Monday that “it is disappointing that a few organizations continue to oppose cleanup at the former Santa Susana Field Laboratory site" by filing the lawsuit.
"The comprehensive framework with the state provides regulatory certainty and a clear, accelerated plan for Boeing’s cleanup," he said. "It protects potential future recreational users of the site, surrounding communities, cultural resources and the environment."
The EPA says that under the agreement, Boeing is tasked with cleaning up radioactive contamination in the soil to the most stringent "background" level.
But cleanup activists say the settlement will leave at least 90% of Boeing's contaminated soil not cleaned up.
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Jeff Ruch, Pacific region director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, said the lawsuit does not prevent the cleanup from starting immediately.
The suit "instead aims to ensure it continues until it is fully completed," he said in the release.
"This lawsuit is about having the cleanup done right and well beyond the outrageous 'rip and skip' deal that Boeing wrangled behind closed doors," he said.
The 1959 partial nuclear meltdown occurred when the site was the Rocketdyne/Atomics International rocket engine test and nuclear facility.
The site was a premiere research facility for the United States during the Cold War and also experienced other chemical and radioactive contamination over the years.
Ruch said Tuesday that the next step in the litigation is for the court to schedule a hearing on the plaintiffs' request to vacate the settlement and the memo of understanding.
"That may happen as soon as a week from today," he said.
Mike Harris covers the East County cities of Moorpark, Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, as well as transportation countywide. You can contact him at mike.harris@vcstar.com or 805-437-0323.
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This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Suit alleges state gave lenient deal to Boeing in toxic site cleanup
