169 Companies to pay $7 million Dollars Each to Cleanup the Whittier Landfill Superfund Site

The Whittier Landfill Superfund Site operated from 1976 through 1991 as a facility to treat and recycle used solvents. The site is contaminated with commercial paints and refrigerants. It is reported that 169 companies are named as responsible parties and will each pay $7 million dollars to this remedial cleanup action. Of all the thousands of Consent Decrees and Administrative Orders on Consent that have crossed my desk, I have never seen a settlement stipulating the average payment of all responsible parties. All the negotiated settlements I have seen state that the parties will either pay their allocated shares represented by a dollar amount and/or allocated waste amount; or the document state that the responsible parties shall reimburse x amount to the federal government (EPA is not concerned who pays just as long as the tax payer is reimbursed for the expenditures made). I hope this clarification helps resolve this inaccuracy in reporting.