After more than a decade of delays, the U.S. Department of Energy said it will soon resume environmental cleanup at a former nuclear and rocket engine test site in the hills of Ventura County.
On Wednesday, the DOE and the California Department of Toxic Substances Control announced a consent order to demolish 10 government-owned buildings, including several of the most contaminated, at the Santa Susana Field Lab outside Simi Valley.
The sprawling test site covers 2,850 acres and was instrumental in the development of the Apollo and space shuttle programs. In 1959, it was the scene of a nuclear accident ,and more recently it was the ignition point for the 2018 Woolsey fire, which caused devastation in both Ventura and Los Angeles counties.
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Energy is committed to making real and significant progress to meaningfully address the environmental legacy challenges from decades of Cold War era government research,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette. “This agreement is an important step that demonstrates how DOE and California can collaborate to bring the ETEC site to its final cleanup and completion.”
Read the full story on LATimes.com.
