Olin Corp.
’s deeds continue to speak much more loudly than its words.
Olin Corp.’s deeds continue to speak much more loudly than its words.
The company has acknowledged that its now-closed road flare factory in south Morgan Hill is responsible for a perchlorate plume that’s poisoning South Valley groundwater.
When the perchlorate was first discovered, Olin sounded like it would follow the high road of good corporate citizenship and take care of residents whose wells were contaminated by perchlorate, a byproduct of the production of road flares.
“We take our commitment as an environmentally responsible company and a good neighbor very seriously,” Olin spokesman Rick McClure said at the time.
We took the company at its word and editorialized that we should give the company a chance to fulfill its promises and be a responsible corporate citizen.
Sadly, the company has disappointed us – and all of South Valley – at nearly every turn.
The latest example is a broad appeal of a cleanup order issued by the state Regional Water Quality Control Board.
Last month, Olin indicated that it would appeal the requirement that it continue to deliver bottled water to residents whose wells test between 4 and 6 parts per billion of perchlorate. Earlier this year, the state of California established a public health goal of 6 ppb for perchlorate, and Olin wants to squirm out of providing bottled water for that 2 ppb window.
That narrow appeal plan was bad enough. Perchlorate levels fluctuate seasonally and there is a 20 percent margin of error in perchlorate test results.
But now, instead of appealing just disputed 2 ppb portion of the bottled water delivery order, Olin has filed an appeal of the regional water board’s entire cleanup order.
That means Olin, the company that wants us to believe it’s “environmentally responsible” and “a good neighbor,” is trying to weasel out of requirements that it provide an alternative source of pure water for residents with contaminated wells, clean up the soil and groundwater it polluted, perform monitoring and provide treatment systems on individual wells.
A decision on the appeal could take as long as 18 months.
To add insult to injury, Olin has asked the state water board to issue a stay on the cleanup order it is appealing until the appeal is decided. If a stay is granted, bottled water deliver could be halted although Olin has said that would not happen.
Olin’s actions reveal a company that is uninterested in corporate responsibility, unconcerned with reversing the damage it wrought on the environment, and indifferent to the suffering of South Valley residents whose water it poisoned.
It is incumbent on South Valley residents and our elected and appointed officials to ignore Olin’s words and watch its deeds, and to make sure the company is held fully responsible for the perchlorate plume it unleashed in South Valley aquifers.
