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Home My WebLink AboutCC Res 4864 2000-12-11 I I I RESOLUTION NO.~~ A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SEAL BEACH, CALIFORNIA, OBJECTING TO THE PROPOSED CONSENT DECREE RELATED TO THE CAL COMPACT LANDFILL SUPERFUND SITE IN THE CITY OF CARSON, CALIFORNIA WHEREAS, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control ("DTSC") has proposed to settle by means of a consent decree among the parties to litigation brought pursuant to the federal Comprehensive Environmental Responsc, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq. ("CERCLA") and entitled Department o/Toxic Substances COlllrol et al. II. Commercial Realty Projects, Inc., and L.A. Metromall, Atlantic Ricl,field CompallY, Chellron U.S.A., Inc., Mobil Oil COI]lOration, Shell Oil Company, Shell Chemical Company, Standard Oil Company o/California, Richfield Corporation, Long Beach Oil Dellelopmelll, Company, Southern California Gas Company, /Jumble Oil & Refining Company, Tidewater Oil Company, Union Oil Company o/California, Phillips Petroleum Company, Allied Signallllc., Ullocal Corporation, and Gulf Oil Corporation, 95-8773 MI (JRx) (the "Consent Dccree") conc.erning thc Cal Compact Landfill Superfund Site in Carson, California ("the Site"), and WHEREAS, the settling defendants in these actions are primarily oil and chemical companies which deposited hazardous substances and other contaminants at tile Site, and WHEREAS, rather than pursue other responsible parties or pay the full cost of rcmediating the Site, certain settling defendants in the above actions ("the Oil and Chemical Companies") have filed suit against thirty-eight (38) cities, the County of Los Angcles, and live (5) County Garbage Disposal Districts (collectively, "the Local Government Dcfcndants") (Phillips Petroleum, et al. II. County 0/ Los Angeles, et al., U.S.D.C. No. 00-1938 MRP (MANx) and Shell Oil, et al. II. Caullly o/Las Angeles, et al., U.S.D.C. No. 00-1917 MRP (MANx)), seeking tu havc the cost of cleanup of contamination at the Site paid primarily by the Local Government Defendants, based on unsupported contentions t1mt the Local Government Defendants sent municipal solid waste to a landlill at the Site, and WHEREAS, there has been no factual determination by any court or govcrnmcnt agency that the Local Governrnent Defendants contributed to the contanlination of the site, and WHEREAS, DTSC ordered the oil and chemical companies in 1988 to clean up the Sitc, and they have failcd to do so; WHEREAS, DTSC previously informed the Local Government Defendants that DTSC did not intend to sue the Local Govcnullent Defendants in cOlmection with thc Site, and WHEREAS, the Local Govcrrunent Defendants were excluded by DTSC and the Oil and Chemical Companies from participating in any negotiation OftllC Consent Decree, and WHEREAS, the Consent Decree, to which DTSC is a party, does not conform with CERCLA in that it: I. Encourages further litigation, including "pursu[ing] third parties to maximizc, to the cxtcnt practieal, the rccovcry," 2. Dcclares certain elements of the Oil and Chemical Companies' prima facie case against the Local Government Defendants to be true, despite there having becn no opportunity for the Local Goverruncnt Defendants to present evidence to thc contrary, and 3. Penllits the collection of the Oil and Chemical Companies' attorneys fees from the Local Government Defendants which would not otherwise be recoverable under CERCLA, and Resolution NUmber~ WHEREAS, the Consent Decree permits and requires the assignment of claims Ihll1l other parties with responsibility for the Site (including past, present, and future unknown owners or developers of the Site) to the Oil and Chemical Companies and then requires the Oil and Chemical Companies to pursue these claims against the Local Government Defendants, and WHEREAS, resolution of these maUers in the matmer proposed could result in liule or nu net cost to the Oil and Chemical Companies and a potential winMall, despite their stalus as potentially responsible parties at the Site, at the expense of the Local Govenullent Defendants and their taxpayers, and WHEREAS, the total cost of cleanup has not been determined by DTSC, and I WHEREAS, DTSC is proposing in the Consenl Decree to delegate its role in the supervision of the remediation of the Site to the Oil and Chemical Companies, NOW, THEREFORE, the City Council of the City of Seal Dcach, California, resolves as follows: Section 1. The City Couneil of the City of Seall3each objects to the entry of the consent decree in the maUers of Depar/melll of Toxic SlIbs/ances Cull/rul e/ al. v. Commercial Real/)' Pn!;ects. II/c., and LA. Met/"Omall, A/lalllic Richfield Compul/)', Chevron U.S.A., Inc., Mubil Oil Corpom/iun, Shell Oil Compan)', Shell Chemical Compan)', S/al/dard Oil Compan)' of ('all(o/'llia, Richfield CO/1}(Jraliol/, LOllg Beach Oil Development, Compan)', Sou/hem Califi}""ia Gas COli/pail)', J/umble Oil & Refining Compan)', Tidewater Oil Compan)', Union Oil Compan)' ofCalijiJ,."ia, Phillips Petmlellm Compal/)', Allied Signal Inc., Unocal CO'1Jora/ion, al/d GII(( Oil Curpora/ion, 95-8773 MI(JRx) because the Consent Decree is not fair and reasonable, nor is it consistent with CERCLA and federal case law. Section 2. The Consent Decree, as proposed, is against puhlic policy in that it secks to transfer financial responsibility for the cleanup of cnvirolllnental contamination from the I for-profit entities which either own or owned the Cal Compact Superfund Site and the corporations which deposited oil and chemical related waste there, to local government entities which, at most, simply were performing tile necessary municipal function of collecting and disposing of municipal solid waste, and which will cause the cost of cleanup to be ultimately and unfairly borne by the taxpayers. Seclion 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon its adoption by the City Council, and the City Clerk shall celtify tile vote adopting this resolution. . PASSED, APPROVED of ~l Beach at ~ day of following vote: and ADOPTED by the City Council of the a~lar ~eting thereof held on the 1#, ~ , 2001 by the City AYES: Councilmembe I NOES: Councilmember ABSENT: Councilmember t~r2~- ATTEST: I I I Resolution N1JIrIber~~~~ STATE OF CALIFORNIA) COUNTY OJ? OHANGE ) SS CITY OF SEAL III~ACH ) ~ r, Joanne M. Yeo, City Clerk of Seal Beach, ~~dO hereby certify that the foregoing Icsollllioll is the original copy of Resolution Nlll11 on file in the office of the City Clerk, passed, approved, and adopted bY/Ji1? ~Cil of the City of Seal Beilch, at a regular meeting lhereof held on the /I~ dilyof I.... !-./,2000. ~un721L). II~ lerk