BFPPA Settlement Ensures Cleanup and Redevelopment at Former Plating Facility within El Monte Operable Unit of San Gabriel Valley (Area 1) Superfund Site, Los Angeles County, California
On September 30, 2023, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) finalized an administrative settlement agreement for removal action by bona fide prospective purchaser (BFPPA Removal) to cleanup contamination at a former plating facility, a source property within the El Monte Operable Unit (El Monte OU) of the San Gabriel Valley (Area 1) Superfund site.
The property is in a community with potential environmental justice (EJ) concerns. Addressing and cleaning up source contamination at the property will, in part, prevent further contamination of the groundwater in the El Monte OU, and protect a drinking water resource to the community. Further, the cleanup will allow the purchaser to pursue future redevelopment of the property, with the potential to add jobs to the community.
On this page:
- Information about El Monte SS Properties, LLC
- Information about El Monte Operable Unit of San Gabriel Valley (Area 1) Superfund Site
- Overview of the Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Removal Agreement
- Contact Information
Information about El Monte SS Properties, LLC
El Monte SS Properties, LLC, located in Los Angeles, California, is a limited liability company in the business of owning and leasing non-residential property. Beginning on November 29, 2017, the company bought five of the six properties (Property) where the former Crown City Plating facility operated. The Property is located in El Monte, California.
Information about El Monte Operable Unit of San Gabriel Valley (Area 1) Superfund Site
The San Gabriel Valley (Area 1) site is an 11-square-mile area of contaminated groundwater in Los Angeles County, California. It is one of four Superfund sites in the 170-square-mile San Gabriel Valley. The San Gabriel Valley (Area 1) was listed on the National Priorities List (NPL) in 1984 because of contamination within aquifers forming the regional groundwater system known as the San Gabriel Basin. The El Monte OU addresses a 1.5-square-mile area of groundwater contamination underlying parts of the cities of El Monte and Rosemead, and a small portion of Temple City. The groundwater contamination is the result of decades of poor chemical handling and disposal practices by many business operations within the San Gabriel Valley Superfund sites.
One business that is a major source of metals and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to groundwater at the El Monte OU is the Crown City Plating Company (CCPC) property. Between 1956 and 2004 CCPC operated an approximately 12-acre metal plating facility above a portion of what is now the El Monte OU. Operations at the facility included large scale, mass production of electroless plating, electroplating, burnishing, and painting of automotive, hardware, and decorative parts. Plastic injection molding was also performed at the facility.
On May 7, 1990, EPA issued a general notice of potential liability to CCPC and other potentially responsible parties (PRPs) for the site. A group of PRPs, not including CCPC, completed remedial investigation and feasibility study reports in 1998. On June 23, 1999, an interim record of decision (IROD) was issued for the EL Monte OU. More information is available on the Agency’s San Gabriel Superfund site profile web page.
Overview of the Bona Fide Prospective Purchaser Removal Agreement
Under the settlement, the company will perform an engineering evaluation/cost analysis (EE/CA) to evaluate all contamination present or existing on or under the property. After EPA approves the EE/CA and selects a non-time critical removal action, the company will perform the removal action. The estimated cost for this work $3 million.
Contact Information
For more information contact:
Phil Page
Senior Attorney-Advisor
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20460
(303) 564 - 4211
Page.Phil@epa.gov