Regulatory Oversight  |  Consent Order and Administrative Orders on Consent |  Other Agencies

The Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) regulates those who handle hazardous waste, clean up existing contamination, and look for ways to reduce hazardous waste produced in California. DTSC is the lead regulatory agency overseeing cleanup at SSFL along with multiple state, local and federal government agencies.

In 2007 DTSC entered into a Consent Order with the responsible parties to define the requirements for investigating contaminated soil and groundwater at SSFL and implementing the cleanup in accordance with DTSC’s statutory authority. The 2007 Consent Order did not dictate a particular cleanup level for chemical or radiological contamination. In 2010, DTSC signed separate Administrative Orders on Consent (AOC) with DOE (DOE 2010 AOC) and NASA (NASA 2010 AOC) that requires cleanup of soil in their portions of SSFL to background levels. Groundwater for all three responsible parties is subject to the 2007 Consent Order. Various disputes between DTSC and Boeing over cleanup levels had long delayed progress at the site, and so DTSC and Boeing entered into mediation in 2021. This led to the 2022 Settlement Agreement that establishes processes for the cleanup of Boeing’s areas of responsibility at SSFL. Boeing is subject to the 2007 Consent Order as amended by the 2022 Settlement Agreement.

The table below summarizes the soil and groundwater cleanup requirements (i.e., risk-based or background levels) for Boeing, DOE, and NASA and how the AOCs and 2022 Settlement Agreement changed the requirements.