환경보호국과 미국 법무부 의해 확보된 기금 11억 달러를 이전에 화학 생산 부지였던 국가 최대의 과염소산염 지하수 플룸을 정화하는데 사용된다.

플룸은 남서부 최대 식수원인 콜로라도 강에 후버댐을 건설하면서 생긴 미드호를 포함한다.

과염소산염은 태아 성장 발달과 어른의 신진대사 ,정신 기능에 필요한 갑상선 호르몬 분비를 방해한다. 

정부는 Anadarko와 Kerr McGee에 사기 양도 혐의를 해결하기 위해 51억 5천달러 지불을 요구했다.

이 전체 금액에서 약 44억 달러는 환경 정화를 위해 사용될 것으로 보인다. 

환경보호국의 지방 관리자인 Jared Blumenfeld는 "11억 달러의 지불은 최대 과염소산염 지역을 정화하고 서부 1천5백만 사람들에게 안전한 식수를 접근 할 수 있게 한다고" 밝혔다. 

a settlement by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Justice has secured $1.1 billion in funds to clean up a former chemical manufacturing site in Henderson, Nev. -- the largest perchlorate groundwater plume in the country.

The plume has contaminated Lake Mead, which feeds into the Colorado River -- a major source of drinking water in the Southwest. Perchlorate can interfere with the production of thyroid hormones, which are needed for prenatal and postnatal growth and development, as well as for normal metabolism and mental function in adults.

The settlement requires Anadarko and Kerr McGee to pay a total of $5.15 billion to resolve fraudulent conveyance claims based on allegations that the defendants sought to evade their liability for environmental contamination at toxic sites around the country. Of this total, approximately $4.4 billion will be used for environmental cleanup. This is the largest amount of money ever awarded in a bankruptcy-related settlement for environmental cleanup.

Jared Blumenfeld, EPA's Regional Administrator for the EPA Pacific Southwest, said, "This historic $1.1-billion settlement will result in cleaning up the nation's largest perchlorate plume and ensuring that 15 million people throughout the West will have access to safe drinking water."

According to Leo Drozdoff, director of the Nevada Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, more than 4,000 tons of perchlorate have been removed from both soil and groundwater to date. "This settlement is the culmination of years of hard work by many people and it means that Nevada will have the necessary financial resources to continue the perchlorate removal efforts vital to southern Nevada," he said.

[출처 = Waterworld / 2014년 4월 3일]