Washington, DC – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has awarded Rialto, Colton, and Fontana $482,000 to help clean up perchlorate contamination in local groundwater wells, U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) today announced.

The cities will receive an additional $288,700 in remediation funding later this year. The funding was secured as part of the FY 2005 VA/HUD Appropriations bill.

“Perchlorate has permeated our nation’s water supply, contaminating water sources in 35 states,” Senator Feinstein said. “The problem is especially acute in the Inland Empire where perchlorate has seeped into groundwater supplies.”

“This funding is an important first step in providing federal assistance, but much more needs to be done. The Department of Defense needs to step up to the plate and fund clean up efforts. The EPA needs to set a drinking water standard. And Congress needs to authorize a comprehensive plan to address perchlorate contamination.”

Perchlorate is a chemical used in rocket fuel and munitions. It is a highly soluble salt that can readily permeate through soils. Perchlorate was widely used by the Defense Department and its contractors in the 1950s and 1960s.

EPA is assisting the State in the Rialto-Colton-Fontana cleanup through its Superfund program, which identifies, investigates and cleans up abandoned hazardous sites throughout the country.

For more information on the Superfund program, please visit: http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/sfund/

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