COMPANY TO PAY FOR TOXIC CLEANUP.

Byline: Jim Skeen Staff Writer

MOJAVE - A third company has reached a settlement with the state over dioxin-contaminated soil at a Mojave industrial site, agreeing to pay $125,000 toward the cleanup costs.

In a settlement of a lawsuit filed in April by the state's Department of Toxic Substances Control, Jerry Staten of Jerry's Metals agreed to pay $125,000 toward the cleanup costs of an industrial site at 11817 United St.

Jerry's Metals, a metal recovery company, is believed by state officials to have contributed to soil contamination at the site during its operations in the 1970s.

``The Consent Decree between DTSC and Jerry Staten/Jerry's Metals, which was vigorously negotiated by the parties, together with the previously negotiated consent decrees, will ensure that the site will be completely remediated and that DTSC will recover a substantial portion of the response costs it has expended at the site and the costs it will incur in overseeing completion of the remedy at the site,'' state officials said in a court filing.

In February, the state announced it had reached separate settlements with Commodity Refining Exchange, the company that now owns the property, and PRG Metals Inc., a company that formerly operated on the site. Under the settlements, Commodity Refining Exchange agreed to complete a concrete cap over the contaminated soil and to pay for monitoring costs while PRG Metals agreed to pay $50,000.

A fourth company, Bear Paw Mining Inc., which owned the property from 1979 to 1984, is also believed by state investigators to have contributed to the contamination. State officials say, however, they do not plan to try to get money from the company because it has no assets.

Officials estimate that the state has spent more than $230,000 investigating and cleaning contaminated soil at the site.

The settlement agreements are expected to be approved later this month by a federal judge.

The settlements are not admissions of wrongdoing by the companies, state officials said in the court filings.

State officials said the soil contamination at the site includes the carcinogen dioxin, found during an investigation that began in 1988.

Jerry's Metals operated on the site from 1970 to 1979, recycling metal by burning such material as insulated wire.

State officials believe the company did not use pollution abatement equipment in its metal recovery process. The state also says the company did not properly store contaminated ash.