BKK Class I Landfill

Has your company been contacted by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (“DTSC”) regarding your company’s possible involvement with the BKK Class I Landfill?  The following information is provided to assist companies identified as potentially responsible parties (“PRPs”) that contributed waste to the landfill.

Site Location and History

The BKK Facility is located at 2210 South Azusa Avenue, West Covina, California and is approximately 583 acres in size.  The Facility includes a closed Class I hazardous waste landfill (regulated by DTSC), a closed Class III municipal solid waste landfill (regulated separately by CalRecycle), an active leachate treatment plant, an energy plant, and other related landfill infrastructure.

From approximately the 1960s to the mid-to-late 1980s, the Class I Landfill (“Site”) accepted municipal waste, commercial waste, and/or hazardous waste, including, without limitation, asbestos and/or asbestos-containing materials and/or asbestos-containing construction materials. DTSC was notified in October 2004 that BKK Corporation lacked the financial resources to continue post-closure care of the Site. DTSC initiated an emergency response action in November 2004, to take over daily operations and maintenance and to perform critical tasks. For more information about Site activities see the Community Update.

Third-Party Cost Recovery Initiative for Future Work

DTSC is currently addressing hazardous substances contamination at the Class I Landfill to protect public health and the environment from actual and/or threatened releases of hazardous substances. Under DTSC’s oversight, a group of former customers, known as the BKK Working Group (“BWG”), is conducting response actions at the Class I Landfill pursuant to federal consent decrees. These response actions include the “Essential Activities” at the Class I Landfill, an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis (“EE/CA”) of the systems at the Class I Landfill, and a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (“RI/FS”) of groundwater contamination. Together, the EE/CA and RI/FS will detail the cleanup objectives and recommend a final set of response actions for the Class I Landfill.

DTSC and BWG are pursuing a joint cost recovery initiative to recover funds from other PRPs (referred to as “third parties”) to finance future response actions.  In implementing the initiative, DTSC and the BWG established a Third-Party Settlement PRP Escrow Account to hold, manage, and distribute settlement funds received from third parties.  The Second Disbursement Amendment to the Third Partial Consent Decree describes how settlement funds placed in the Third-Party Settlement PRP Escrow Account or in DTSC’s BKK sub-account established pursuant to Health and Safety Code section 25330.4 will be used to finance future response actions at the Class I Landfill. Part of the settlement funds will be used to reimburse DTSC for past response costs. The Second Disbursement Amendment can be found in the Project Related Documents section at the bottom of the page in the Community Involvement tab in DTSC’s database EnviroStor.

As part of the cost recovery initiative, DTSC is offering de minimis settlements to eligible PRPs.

De Minimis Settlement Offers to Potentially Responsible Parties

Your company may have received a settlement offer letter from DTSC indicating that your company is a PRP that sent hazardous substances to the Class I Landfill. If the waste that you contributed to the Class I Landfill was minimal, you may be eligible to enter into a de minimis settlement with DTSC.  For more information on de minimis settlements, please see the Frequently Asked Questions Regarding De Minimis Settlements for the BKK Class I Landfill Site. 

DTSC has made a preliminary determination to offer de minimis settlements to each party that sent 4,000 tons or less of hazardous substances to the Class I Landfill.  For more information, please see the Explanation of the Preliminary De Minimis Determination for the Early Cashout Settlement at the BKK Class I Landfill (West Covina, California). 

Calculation Of Per Ton Rate For De Minimis Settlement Offers

The settlement amount offered to each de minimis PRP is based on the quantity of hazardous substances that PRP sent to the Class I Landfill in proportion to the total amount of manifested waste at the Class I Landfill, and on the total response costs incurred and expected to be incurred at the Class I Landfill.  Specifically, DTSC calculated the cost per ton of manifested waste sent to the Class I Landfill and multiplied that number by the total tons each PRP sent to the Class I Landfill. DTSC’s calculation includes adjustments for orphan shares, unallocated shares and an early settlement premium.

For more information on how DTSC and the BWG calculated a de minimis party’s payment amount, please see the Calculation of the Per Ton Rate.

Basis for the Total Response Costs

The estimated total cost to remediate the Class I Landfill is based on:

• DTSC’s response costs incurred from 2004 to the present related to emergency response, enforcement, and oversight activities. These include contractor costs and DTSC employee time spent on the Class I Landfill;
• Costs incurred by the BWG since 2004 for work performed pursuant to the consent decrees;
• Estimated future costs to complete remediation at the Class I Landfill. For more information on response costs incurred by DTSC and the BWG, please see the Calculation of the Per Ton Rate.

For more information on estimated future costs, please see the Fact Sheet, 2020 Cost Estimate, BKK Class I Landfill.

Shipments by a PRP to The Class I Landfill

The BWG, with DTSC’s review, consolidated records of manifested waste shipments to the Class I Landfill into an electronic database.  These records originated from three sources:

1. Hard copy manifests stored by BKK Corp.,
2. Electronic billing records maintained by BKK Corp., and
3. Hard copy and electronic manifest records maintained by DTSC and its predecessor agency, the Department of Health Services.

PRPs may download a copy of the Manifest Summary Report for their company, which provides the total volume, in tons, of manifested waste shipped from their company to the Site, along with supporting documentation, at the following website. Your unique password is located within your Settlement Offer Letter: BKKPRPShippingRecords.com

If a PRP has information in their possession regarding shipments of hazardous substances to the Class I Landfill, particularly any documentation that changes the total volume of manifested waste that is attributed to the PRP’s company sent to the Class I Landfill, please see the directions below concerning the Settlement Offer and Certification.

The Settlement Offer and Certification

The settlement offer made to each PRP is based on the quantity of hazardous substances the PRP sent to the Class I Landfill in proportion to the total amount of manifested waste at the Class I Landfill, and on the total response costs incurred and expected to be incurred at the Class I Landfill.  Specifically, DTSC calculated the cost per ton of manifested waste sent to the Class I Landfill and multiplied that number by the total tons each PRP sent to the Class I Landfill.

The initial settlement offer made to each PRP is based on information currently available to DTSC.  By signing the signature page for the Administrative Consent Order and Settlement Agreement that accompanies the offer letter, each PRP certifies that their company has conducted a reasonable investigation of all information in their company’s possession, or otherwise available to their company, regarding hazardous substances their company sent to the Class I Landfill, and that the PRP is not aware of any shipments their company sent to the Class I Landfill that are not already included in the PRP’s Manifest Summary Report.  Please see Section VIII of the Model Administrative Consent Order and Settlement Agreement for the complete certification language.  If a PRP’s investigation yields no information regarding any additional shipments to the Class I Landfill, the PRP may accept the settlement offered in the initial offer letter.

If a PRP’s investigation reveals information regarding any additional shipments from their company to the Class I Landfill, that PRP must disclose the additional information to DTSC.  Upon evaluating the disclosed information, DTSC may recalculate the amount of the PRP’s initial settlement offer.  To remain eligible for a de minimis settlement, information regarding any additional shipments to the Class I Landfill must be mailed or e-mailed to the following contact at DTSC within thirty days of the PRP’s receipt of the initial offer letter:

Mailing Address: 
Department of Toxic Substances Control
Attn: BKK Third Party Initiative
8800 Cal Center Drive
Sacramento, CA 95826-3200

Phone Number:  (833) 343-0053
E-Mail Address:  BKKPRPsupport@dtsc.ca.gov

A PRP may request a consolidated settlement offer that includes other de minimis PRPs with whom they are affiliated.  DTSC may, in turn, provide a consolidated settlement offer that reflects tonnage in excess of 4,000 tons in the aggregate, however, each entity who is a party to the consolidated settlement offer cannot have individually contributed more than 4,000 tons of hazardous substances to the Class I Landfill.  PRPs who contributed more than 4,000 tons of hazardous substances to the Class I Landfill will be not eligible for a de minimis settlement offer (consolidated or otherwise).

Waste Quantity Reviews

The information provided to each PRP in their company’s Manifest Summary Report is subject to revisions based upon new information as, and if, it becomes available.  If a PRP wishes to dispute waste attributed to their company on the Manifest Summary Report, the PRP may submit a waste quantity review (also referred to as a “volumetric challenge”) based on one or more of the following error:

• Duplicate Entry
• Error in Amount
• Not My Waste
• Not a BKK Shipment

Before submitting a waste quantity review, please carefully read DTSC Fact Sheet – Waste Quantity Records BKK Class I Landfill Site.  It explains how the quantity of waste was determined for individual waste shipments.

In order to submit a waste quantity review, please carefully read and complete the Instructions for Applying for a Waste Quantity Review. A PRP must submit a waste quantity review application to DTSC for each waste shipment record being challenged within thirty (30) calendar days of receipt of the initial settlement offer.

Financial Review

DTSC is aware that some PRPs have limited financial ability to contribute toward the payment of response costs. If a PRP believes and can document that their company would face a financial hardship in paying the full settlement amount offered, the PRP may request that DTSC review the PRP company’s ability to pay. This process will require the PRP company to submit financial records to DTSC, including, but not limited to, federal and state tax returns. Based on DTSC’s evaluation of these records, DTSC may conclude that the PRP’s company is unable to pay the full settlement amount and may offer a reduced settlement amount. An inability-to-pay claim and all supporting documentation must be submitted within 30 days of a PRP’s receipt of the initial settlement offer letter.

For information on the how to apply for a financial review, please carefully review the following documents:

• Instructions and Application for Financial Review (which includes the Application as Exhibit A)
• Exhibit B1 – Example Financial Statements and Blank Forms for Corporations, Partnerships, and Multi-Member LLCs
• Exhibit B2 – Example Financial Statements and Blank Forms for Completion for Sole Proprietorships and Single-Member LLCs

Administrative Consent Order and Settlement Agreement

In order for DTSC to offer favorable settlement amounts to a large number of PRPs, the terms of the de minimis settlements are not negotiable. The terms are set out in the Model Administrative Consent Order and Settlement Agreement (“Order and Agreement”). The Order and Agreement serves as an administrative order and settlement with DTSC and a settlement agreement with the BWG. Each PRP should carefully review all terms in the Order and Agreement.

As a PRP or multiple PRPs agree to enter into an Order and Agreement, DTSC will publicly notice and invite public comment on that Proposed Order and Agreement before the Proposed Order and Agreement becomes final. The public comment period for each Proposed Order and Agreement will be no less than 30 days. Please see the box titled “Invitation for Public Comment on Proposed Order and Agreement” on the right side of this page for information about any Proposed Order and Agreement for which DTSC is currently accepting public comments. 

If you would like to submit a comment, it should be submitted, in writing, to BKK Third Party Initiative, 8800 Cal Center Drive, Sacramento, CA 95826 or BKKPRPsupport@dtsc.ca.gov. All comments should include “BKK Proposed Order and Agreement Docket Number [insert docket number]” in the subject line of the letter or email.

DTSC will accept written comments that are postmarked or received during the public comment period for that Proposed Order and Agreement. DTSC may modify or withdraw the Proposed Order and Agreement with respect to any PRP if any comment discloses facts or considerations indicating that the Proposed Order and Agreement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate as to that PRP.

The Proposed Orders and Agreements, DTSC’s corresponding public notices, and finalized Orders and Agreements can be found in Envirostor.

More Information

If you need additional assistance or further information, please see the contacts on the right side of this page.