The City of Oceanside protects its drinking water supply from TCP

Problem

Oceanside, California is a coastal community located between Los Angeles and San Diego. It operates a water system that delivers drinking water to thousands of customers. During routine water quality testing, Oceanside discovered that six of its groundwater wells contain 1,2,3-Trichloropropane (“TCP”). TCP is considered “likely to be carcinogenic to humans,” but there is currently no regulation prohibiting the presence of TCP in drinking water.

Solution

Oceanside retained SL Environmental Law Group (then known as Sher Leff) to investigate the source of TCP contamination and pursue legal claims against those responsible (The City of Oceanside v. The Dow Chemical Company, et al. – San Francisco Superior Court, Case No. CGC-05-439807). SL’s investigation revealed that TCP was an unnecessary impurity in agricultural products sold by Dow Chemical and Shell Oil and that these tainted agricultural products had been sold to farmers in Oceanside.

Results

Represented by SL, Oceanside filed a lawsuit against those chemical manufacturers. The case was settled out of court and before trial. The settlement proceeds have allowed Oceanside to pay for a treatment facility that will remove TCP from groundwater for years to come.

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