Comprehensive Framework to Hold Boeing Accountable for SSFL Cleanup

In a major development to clean up contaminated soil, groundwater, and stormwater runoff at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory in Ventura County, CalEPA announced in May 2022 a comprehensive framework that establishes strict cleanup protocols and timelines for The Boeing Company (Boeing).

The framework involves two agencies within CalEPA: the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board (Los Angeles Water Board), which has jurisdiction over Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. The framework ensures that Boeing’s areas of responsibility will be cleaned up to a stringent standard.

Background

The Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL) is one of our nation’s most high-profile and controversial toxic cleanup sites. The former laboratory sits on 2,850 acres 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles. From 1947 to 2006, Rocketdyne, Boeing, NASA, and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and their predecessors developed and tested rocket engines, small-scale nuclear reactors, and chemical lasers at the site, leaving behind industrial contaminants including radioactive waste, and polluted soil and water.

The new framework will allow the State of California to move forward with the cleanup after many years of delay.

Previous Efforts

In 2007, Boeing, DOE, and NASA signed a Consent Order requiring them to conduct a risk-based cleanup of the soil and groundwater at SSFL. A risk-based cleanup means that contamination must be removed to minimize the risk of cancer levels to a standard target of one in a million. Cleanup levels will vary depending on the different ways in which humans and wildlife might be exposed to contaminants based on the reasonably anticipated future land uses of the site. The 2007 Consent Order did not dictate a particular cleanup level for contaminants or radiological contamination. Various disputes between DTSC and Boeing over cleanup levels have long delayed progress at the site.

To put an end to ongoing delays and anticipated litigation, the parties entered into mediation in January 2021.

A Better Solution

“No community should have to worry that their soil and water are contaminated with toxic chemicals and radioactive waste. Boeing, as well as NASA and the U.S. Department of Energy, are now under binding agreements that compel a science-based, stringent cleanup of the soil and water at Santa Susana,” said Jared Blumenfeld, California’s Secretary for Environmental Protection.

This year, a better framework has been created to hold Boeing accountable. The framework consists of separate but inter-dependent agreements between Boeing and two agencies within the CalEPA: a Settlement Agreement with DTSC and a proposed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Los Angeles Water Board. Together, they establish an accelerated, streamlined path for a comprehensive soil cleanup that is protective of human health, groundwater, stormwater runoff, and the environment.

Key features of the DTSC Settlement Agreement include:

• Boeing’s agreement to not litigate a stringent risk-based cleanup standard selected by DTSC, up to and including a “resident with garden” standard for chemical contamination. This standard requires that the cleaned areas would be safe for people to live onsite and eat homegrown produce from a backyard garden.
• Boeing’s agreement to clean up radiological contamination to “background,” levels that would exist locally without industrial activity.
• Expedited cleanup process to streamline and accelerate cleanup of contaminated sites.

Key features of the Los Angeles Water Board MOU include:

• Requirements for Boeing to demonstrate that its soil cleanup will lead to stormwater runoff from the site that is no longer polluted from the past industrial activity at SSFL.
• Once its soil cleanup is complete, requirements for Boeing to prove to the Los Angeles Water Board that stormwater runoff is not polluted through years of water quality monitoring results.
• Assurance that only when Boeing’s soil cleanup is finished, and water quality testing shows that stormwater is not polluted, will the Los Angeles Water Board consider whether Boeing may be relieved of its industrial stormwater permit requirements.
• Clear statements that the MOU does not pre-determine the Board’s future decision and that the Los Angeles Water Board will follow its public process to make a decision at that time.

Total cleanup costs for Boeing’s areas of responsibility are expected to be in the hundreds of millions of dollars, including cleanup costs that have already been spent. Boeing may face penalties of up to $70,000 per day per violation of the 2022 Settlement Agreement or 2007 Consent Order.

Regulatory Commitment to Safety and Health

CalEPA is committed to protecting people and the environment from toxic harm. As a regulatory agency, DTSC will hold Boeing and the other responsible parties – NASA and DOE – accountable for cleanup under their respective agreements without further delay, and to standards based on the best available science. The Los Angeles Water Board will ensure stormwater runoff from the site is no longer polluted, protecting the health of the community downstream of the site.

Site-wide cleanup of the soil will take about 10-15 years, and DTSC is looking at ways to speed up the schedule. Prior and current cleanup efforts include:

• 15 soil cleanups
• Ongoing groundwater cleanups under the Groundwater Interim Measures (GWIM)
• Operation of stormwater treatment systems to prevent pollution off site
• Building demolition by DOE, Boeing and NASA

DTSC and Boeing signed a Land Use Covenant (LUC). The LUC applies to the Boeing-owned property, making up the majority of the former SSFL. It prohibits human consumption or domestic use of groundwater under Boeing’s portions of the site under section 1471 of the California Civil Code. 

Next Steps

The Settlement Agreement provides a process for cleaning up Boeing’s areas of responsibilities, including seeking public input and comment on the proposed remedy before adopting the final cleanup decision. DTSC presented the details of the Settlement Agreement at a public forum on June 2, 2022. Additional outreach and engagement will be conducted this fall after the planned release of the Final Program Environmental Impact Report.

Additionally, the Los Angeles Water Board will hold a public meeting on the proposed MOU on August 11, 2022.

For more information, please visit DTSC’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory page and Los Angeles Waterboard’s Santa Susana Field Laboratory page.