Litigation Support for Former Dry Cleaner Site

EKI assisted a former owner of a shopping center that had a dry cleaner in South Lake Tahoe, California. Our client relied upon the decision [United Artists v. Regional WQCB (2019) 42 Cal. App. 5th 851] for a former dry cleaner in Santa Clara that EKI provided litigation support, to obtain a favorable decision from the El Dorado County Superior Court.

While preserving our client’s litigation position, EKI worked collaboratively with the current property owner and the Lahontan Regional Water Quality Control Board (Regional Board), both of which were defendants in the case. The dry‑cleaning solvent, perchloroethylene (PCE) has been detected in municipal supply wells within the Tahoe Valley South Basin, which also has required EKI to coordinate its investigative and remedial efforts with affected water purveyors and customers, City of South Lake Tahoe, South Tahoe Public Utility District, and the State Water Resources Control Board.

EKI has conducted the following tasks as part of this project:

• Characterized onsite and off‑site environmental conditions by performing a closed‑circuit television (CCTV) inspection of the sanitary sewer system, passive and active soil gas surveys, and vertical profiling with a membrane interface probe and Hydropunch grab groundwater sampling. Investigative results demonstrate PCE‑containing groundwater did not migrate from the shopping center.
• Reviewed reports and correspondence posted on GeoTracker, data pertaining to hazardous waste shipments included in the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) Hazardous Waste Tracking System, searches of environmental databases by Environmental Data Resources, Inc. (EDR) presented in EDR Radius Map™ Reports with GeoCheck®, historical aerial photographs, and city directories. This review prompted the Regional Board to send Investigative Orders pursuant to Section 13267 of the California Water Code to 223 parties. Potential off‑site PCE sources are businesses that may have used chlorinated solvents, including historical and current dry cleaners, laundromats, carpet cleaning businesses, automotive repair shops, paint and automotive body shops, and printing shops identified in Tahoe Valley South Basin.
• Implemented remedial actions entailing soil vapor extraction (SVE), air sparging, and in‑situ chemical oxidation to address volatile organic compounds in soil and groundwater at the shopping center.

Outcome

Citing the precedent set in United Artists case, the Court mandated that the Regional Board remove EKI’s client from the Cleanup and Abatement Order issued to parties associated with the shopping center.