Companies agree to spend $78 million in groundwater cleanup

The consent decree, filed in federal court in Los Angeles, is the latest settlement by companies that between 1976 and 1991 sent tons of hazardous chemicals to the Omega Chemical Corp. site in Whittier or operated the treatment and disposal facility in the eastern Los Angeles suburb.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has said that most drinking water wells in the area haven't been contaminated, but a handful are being treated to ensure the water meets state and federal standards.

Under the consent decree, a group of 66 companies and other entities agreed to settle regulatory complaints by installing a new system to extract and treat contaminated groundwater outside of the Superfund site.