State Releases Report, Marking Another Step In EM’s Cleanup At ETEC

SIMI VALLEY, Calif. – The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) released a report last week to inform the public of possible impacts from EM’s cleanup of contaminated soil and groundwater at the Santa Susana Field Laboratory (SSFL).

EM is reviewing the programmatic environmental impact report to determine how it can assist the cleanup program to execute its cleanup plan at the laboratory’s Energy Technology Engineering Center (ETEC) Area IV. Part of that plan is outlined in a DOE record of decision (ROD) published in 2020 for groundwater cleanup at the site. The ROD describes monitoring and treatment approaches tailored to address the contaminants and potential impacts in affected areas of the ETEC site, as well as interim actions.

Under that decision, EM will monitor the natural attenuation for areas with less contamination. Natural attenuation relies on natural processes to decrease, or “attenuate,” concentrations of contaminants in soil and groundwater.

In other areas, EM will implement more aggressive strategies, such as expanding pump-and-treat operations, conducting an in-situ treatment pilot study and removing impacted bedrock.

This next phase of cleanup at ETEC comes after EM achieved a pivotal milestone in late 2021: completion of demolition of the final 18 DOE-owned buildings at ETEC.

Kristen Ellis, EM’s acting associate principal deputy assistant secretary for regulatory and policy affairs, visited the ETEC site earlier this year. She viewed EM’s cleanup progress from recent years and discussed current interim measures and next steps for the ETEC cleanup.

“We know how important this cleanup is to the local community,” Ellis said. “There is more work to be done. As we finalize the path forward for soil cleanup, we continue to work with the state of California to finalize DOE’s portion of the cleanup of Area IV in a way that protects the community, and by using the best science available in our approach.”

EM has been performing continuous environmental monitoring using air monitoring stations around the perimeter of the ETEC site. The cleanup program has also been conducting ongoing groundwater monitoring, collecting samples from the more than 100 wells that EM installed at the site to monitor, analyze and help understand groundwater contamination and inform cleanup actions.

“I am excited about advancing groundwater remediation at ETEC. The next milestones after that will come from collaborating with the state of California to reach a workable approach for the soil remediation at ETEC,” said Josh Mengers, EM’s federal project director for the ETEC site. “My team and I have been working hard on the next phase and achieving the Department’s goal: to clean up the ETEC site in a way that is protective of both the surrounding communities and the environment.”

Mengers added that EM looks forward to implementing the next phase of cleanup plans at ETEC, starting with groundwater remediation.