The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have settled claims against two defense contractors allegedly responsible for contamination at the Moses Lake Wellfield Superfund Site in Washington state.
The settlement will provide the funding necessary to clean up TCE (trichloroethylene), an industrial solvent, and other contaminants present at the site.
The cleanup effort was initiated by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and will be completed by EPA in conjunction with the Washington Department of Ecology. It will implement a cleanup plan selected by EPA in September 2008.
According to the consent decree, the federal government will provide an estimated $55 million in cleanup funds. Other cleanup funding, in the amount of $3.25 million, will be provided by The Boeing Company, Lockheed Martin and the city of Moses Lake, Wash.
The settlement resolves a lawsuit brought by the EPA and the state of Washington against the contractors and the City of Moses Lake.
The consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington on Wednesday. It is subject to a 30-day public comment period and approval by the federal court.
