Clearing land.

Clearing Land: The current and former owners of a nearly 1,000-acre former munitions site in Santa Clarita have agreed to pay $I00 million to settle a long-running lawsuit filed by four water agencies, removing a major obstacle to redeveloping the prime real estate. Remediation Financial Inc. of Phoenix and previous owner Whittaker Corp. of Simi Valley have agreed to provide up to $100 million for the cleanup of perchlorate-contaminated groundwater emanating from the site under the settlement with the Castaic Lake Water Agency, the Newhall County Water District, the Santa Clarita Water Co. and the Valencia Water Co. The settlement provides funding to construct replacement wells, pipelines and a treatment plant to remove the chemical--a rocket fuel propellant--and to maintain the treatment system for 30 years.