EPA Needs to Follow Through at McColl : Failure to Match Action to Promises at Toxic Dump Site in Fullerton Must End

The federal government promises that this time it has the right method for handling the toxic waste problem at the McColl dump in Fullerton. Given the sorry record of oil companies and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency at the site, that would be a welcome reversal of the previous situation.

The children of residents who moved into the scenic area near McColl in the late 1970s have grown up and completed college. During that time, nothing was done to remove or permanently cover the toxic waste.

The delays have taken a toll on the health of some neighborhood families. The failure to match action to promises has also eroded many residents’ faith in government.

Many who lived near the site or still do have complained of being betrayed by officials who swore for years that cleanup would begin soon.

The history of McColl and the battle between oil companies and the government over who should pay for the cleanup and how best to do it should be required study for all government officials.

It’s a textbook case of failure.

The failure to fulfill pledges has helped fuel congressional attacks on Superfund, the federal program to clean up hazardous waste sites like McColl. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent across the country on court battles over who should pay for cleanups, but too few sites have been cleansed.

The EPA needs to follow through at McColl this time. It said last month it plans to cap the sites where oil wastes were dumped in World War II, before homes were built nearby. The plan merely to cap the sites contrasts with the EPA’s announcement only two years ago that a different method was better. And that plan was different from earlier ones.

The four oil companies ordered to pay for the McColl cleanup have also been a source of delay through their lawsuits. If ever there was an instance where mediation was needed to get action this was it. Too often the homeowners appeared to have been forgotten by the warring parties in the dispute.

For all their problems, the homes remain well maintained. Some border a golf course, which may be expanded and take over toxic lands once they are cleansed.

Most residents remain enthusiastic about their homes and the neighborhood. But many others say they would have moved elsewhere if they had known how long it would take to clean up the mess.

They deserve to have the cleanup done, quickly.