OC District Attorney Todd Spitzer and GKN Aerospace have come to a $125 million settlement agreement in the civil case against the company for a chemical tank that nearly exploded in Garden Grove in May – forcing 50,000 OC residents to evacuate their homes.
The agreement comes after GKN and the DA announced a $100 million claims program for residents and businesses in August affected by the hazmat incident, which is set to open this month.
“The civil case was filed in Orange County Superior Court today with the civil complaint along with the terms of the stipulated agreement,” reads an Oct. 12 news release from Spitzer’s office.
In addition to the $100 million claims program the company had already committed to, GKN will be paying out nearly $8.5 million for the emergency services that responded to the incident and pay an additional $15 million in civil penalties.
GKN will also pay $1.4 million for an outside organization to oversee their operations and undertake a “robust safety and monitoring plan” for seven years.
“The stipulated agreement marks an important milestone in the District Attorney’s Office’s efforts to recoup millions of dollars in taxpayer funds spent responding to the Memorial Day weekend hazmat incident by the County of Orange, the Orange County Fire Authority, and the cities of Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton, Westminster, and Anaheim as well as the United States Environmental Protection Agency and the South Coast Air Quality Management District,” the news release reads.
Over Memorial Day weekend, residents in Garden Grove, Stanton and surrounding cities were evacuated after a chemical tank at GKN Aerospace hit dangerously high pressure, with fire officials at the time expecting it to either leak or explode.
Eventually, the tank was stabilized and evacuation orders ended on May 26.
The $100 million portion of the settlement is expected to reimburse the roughly 13,000 to 17,000 affected households over the Memorial Day weekend for hotel stays, meals, transport and loss of wages.
While both parties have agreed to the payout, the settlement will still have to be approved by an Orange County Superior Court judge before it is finalized.
In a Oct. 12 press release from GKN, the company has done the prep work needed to launch their claims program.
“As GKN previously announced, we have been working diligently to resolve the Orange County District Attorney’s Office’s civil investigation regarding the May incident. Today, the DA’s Office filed in court the necessary documents to initiate the process of resolving the investigation,” the GKN release reads.
However, the program is dependent on court approval. The company claims the program will be set to open within days of agreement approval by an OC Superior Court judge.
GKN is planning to host an event on Oct. 27 where residents can learn more about the claims program, but no additional details are available at this time.
GKN also promised to hold a town hall as part of their claims program. As of now, the company has yet to hold one.
According to GKN, several class action lawsuits related to the hazmat incident are still under way.
Sara Leon is a Voice of OC reporting fellow. You can reach her at admin@voiceofoc.org
Michelle King is a Voice of OC reporting fellow. You can reach her at admin@voiceofoc.org
