The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a $1 million settlement with CalMat Corp. that requires the North Hollywood company to design extraction wells and a treatment system to clean groundwater contamination caused by its former site. CalMat, also known as Vulcan Materials Co., is the former owner of a landfill which released chemicals into the groundwater. Los Angeles Department of Water and Power produces water for public distribution from seven wellfields near the North Hollywood site. EPA has worked to clean up groundwater contamination in the San Fernando Valley since the early 1980s when solvent pollution was first discovered. The North Hollywood groundwater treatment system has operated since 1989, removing volatile organic compounds from groundwater. The site was placed on the EPA’s Superfund list in 1986. “These investigation and design efforts are critical steps in EPA’s cleanup actions at this site,” Alexis Strauss, EPA’s acting regional administrator, said in a statement. “Looking to the future, this work will complement local efforts to develop additional water sources.”
