HALACO

Halaco smelting facility, near Ormond Beach.  Photo: Linda Krop

In January 2001, the Environmental Defense Center and Lawyers for Clean Water, on behalf of EDC and Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper, filed lawsuits in state and federal court to stop Halaco’s violations of the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, and Proposition 65 (California’s Safe Drinking Water & Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986). Click here to read complaint. Click here to read press release regarding lawsuit.  At the time, Halaco Engineering Company operated a secondary smelting facility near the beach in Oxnard that contributed incredible amounts of air and water pollution into the surrounding communities and environment.  Discharges and byproducts from the site included heavy metals, oil, grease and radioactive wastes.  Fugitive air emissions spread to nearby neighborhoods.

Beginning in 1980, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) found Halaco in violation of the Clean Water Act for its discharge of waste to the Ormond Beach wetlands. Halaco had also been emitting air pollutants in violation of the Clean Air Act since at least 1990. The Ventura County Air Pollution Control District (APCD) found significant cancer and chronic non-cancer risks from Halaco’s air emissions. Since 1990, the APCD received 97 complaints about the company’s operations, prompting a lawsuit by the Ventura County District Attorney in which Halaco was found guilty of three misdemeanor accounts for air pollution.

After filing our lawsuit, we reached a settlement agreement with Halaco, such that the company agreed to install measures to prevent polluted stormwater runoff, groundwater contamination, toxic air emissions, and odors from the site. Halaco also agreed to terms that provided an incentive for the company to remove a heap of toxic waste material located next to the beach.  For more details please read EDC’s press release regarding the settlement agreement.

Unfortunately, after further enforcement actions Halaco decided to shut down its operations and file for bankruptcy rather than comply with our settlement agreement.  The site was subsequently sold to a third party, and designated a “Superfund” site by the EPA in September 2007.  EDC wrote a letter to the EPA supporting their proposal.  EPA completed a preliminary site assessment in early 2009 and will continue to take steps to clean up the property so that it no longer poses a threat to public health and the environment. In 2010, EPA conducted testing that confirmed that Halaco's wastes have affected groundwater to a depth of about 100 feet. EPA is not testing whether the affected groundwater has moved offsite. EPA is also taking soil and sediment samples, both on and offsite. Later this summer or fall EPA will collect fish and other biological samples to evaluate risks to wildlife from Halaco's wastes. You can learn more about EPA’s work at Halaco on their website.

In March, 2009, EDC sent a letter to the EPA advising the agency to consider global climate change and sea level rise during its plans for the site.