[CPEO-MEF] S.B. County rapped over old waste site

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S.B. County rapped over old waste site
POLLUTION: The head of a task force calls the failure to clean up the
property "gross negligence."

09/13/2002
By IMRAN GHORI
THE PRESS-ENTERPRISE

RIALTO - A coalition of cities and water agencies Thursday accused San
Bernardino County of deliberately ignoring its responsibility to clean
up a former hazardous-waste site suspected of polluting drinking water
miles away.

The group is demanding that the county provide drinking water to replace
19 wells that have been shut down as a result of contamination from
perchlorate, a chemical used in rocket fuel. Perchlorate is known to
cause thyroid disorders and poses a particular risk to pregnant women
and young children. The contamination has spread south, invading wells
as far as 6 1/2 miles away.

The wells normally would serve residents in Colton, Rialto and Fontana.

"This is really an outrageous act of gross negligence," Barry Groveman,
head of the Inland Empire Perchlorate Task Force formed by state Sen.
Nell Soto, D-Pomona, said at a news conference Thursday. "I would easily
characterize it as malfeasance."

County officials say the task force members are rushing to judgment and
have no proof that county-owned land contributed to contamination.

"We want to make sure, before we start spending taxpayers' money, that
the county is responsible," Board of Supervisors Chairman Fred Aguiar
said. "If we are, we have to act appropriately and immediately."

Earlier this week, the state Department of Toxic Substances Control
issued a cleanup order targeting 96 acres the county purchased in 1993
for $5 million. The land, once used to store and dispose of explosives,
was part of an expansion plan for the county's nearby Mid-Valley
Landfill.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.pe.com/breakingnews/local/PE_NEWS_nbland13.ed91.html

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