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Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site collection
MS 148
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Title: Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site collection
Date (inclusive): 1951-2009, undated.
Date (bulk): 1972-1987
Collection Number: MS 148
Creator:
Rivera
Library. Special Collections Department
Extent:
44.17 linear feet
(38 boxes)
Repository:
Rivera Library. Special Collections Department.
Riverside, CA 92517-5900
Abstract: The Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site collection contains technical
reports, media clippings, correspondence, public records, ephemera, notes, government
publications, photographs, and other material regarding the Stringfellow Hazardous Waste
Site, a Class I industrial waste disposal facility in Glen Avon, California, that operated
from August 1956 to November 1972. Materials also document the community activism of Glen
Avon resident Ruth Kirkby. Topics covered by the records include site pollution,
contamination of local groundwater, local, state, and federal government cleanup efforts,
and the political activities of Ruth Kirkby.
Languages: The collection is in English.
This collection is open for research.
Copyright Unknown: Some materials in these collections may be
protected by the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.C.). In addition, the reproduction,
and/or commercial use, of some materials may be restricted by gift or purchase agreements,
donor restrictions, privacy and publicity rights, licensing agreement(s), and/or trademark
rights. Distribution or reproduction of materials protected by copyright beyond that allowed
by fair use requires the written permission of the copyright owners. To the extent other
restrictions apply, permission for distribution or reproduction from the applicable rights
holder is also required. Responsibility for obtaining permissions, and for any use rests
exclusively with the user.
[identification of item], [date if possible]. Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site collection
(MS 148). Special Collections & University Archives, University of California,
Riverside.
The Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site collection is comprised of two accessions. Series one
and two were acquired as a gift circa 1995. Series three was acquired as a gift in 2009.
This collection was processed by Sara Seltzer, Processing Archivist, 2011.
Processing of the Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site collection was generously funded by the
Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and administered by the Council on Library and Information
Resources (CLIR). The University of California, Riverside was awarded a Cataloging Hidden
Special Collections and Archives grant from 2010-2012, "Uncovering California's
Environmental Collections," in collaboration with eight additional special collections and
archival repositories throughout the state and the California Digital Library (CDL). Grant
objectives included the processing of over 33 hidden collections related to the state's
environment and environmental history. The collections document an array of important
subtopics such as irrigation, mining, forestry, agriculture, industry, land use, activism,
and research. Together they form a multifaceted picture of the natural world and the way it
was probed, altered, exploited, and protected in California over the twentieth century.
Finding aids are made available through the Online Archive of California (OAC).
Located in Riverside County approximately five miles northwest of the City of Riverside and
one mile north of the community of Glen Avon, the Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site occupies
17 acres at the head of Pyrite Canyon in the Jurupa Mountains. Commonly referred to as the
Stringfellow Acid Pits, the site functioned as a Class I industrial waste disposal facility
permitted by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) from August 1956 to
November 1972. In 1955, the RWQCB contacted James B. Stringfellow, owner of the Stringfellow
Quarry Company, to discuss the creation of an industrial waste dump on a portion of his
company's land in the Jurupa Mountains. Following a report by the State Division of Water
Resources approving use of the site, Stringfellow agreed to the proposal, and the dumping of
toxic wastes commenced in 1956. Approximately 34 million gallons of industrial wastes, which
belonged to some of the most high-profile American companies and contained over 200
hazardous chemicals, were disposed of over the course of the site's 16-year operation.
In 1969, excessive rainfall caused the reservoirs at the facility, known as evaporation
ponds, to overflow into Glen Avon. That same year, Parents of Jurupa, Inc., a non-profit
corporation comprised of Glen Avon residents, was established with the goal of permanently
closing and cleaning up the Stringfellow site, which was believed to be the cause of many
health problems in the community. Due in part to the lobbying efforts of the organization,
the site officially ceased operation in November of 1972 and permanently closed the
following month. The facility's state permit was revoked as a result of waste-discharge
violations, and management of the site subsequently passed from the Stringfellow Quarry
Company to Riverside County in 1974, with operational responsibility assigned to the RWQCB.
Responsibility later passed to the California Department of Health Services (DOHS) in
1981.
In 1980, the United States Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act, which established a $1.6 billion trust fund known as the
"Superfund" for the emergency cleanup of chemical spills and hazardous waste dumps in the
U.S. The Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site was officially placed on the United States
Environmental Protection Agency's (US EPA) Superfund national priority list in 1983. By that
time, contaminants had already moved into the local groundwater supply in Glen Avon,
requiring residents to ultimately receive water from public utilities. Cleanup efforts were
jointly managed by the US EPA and the DOHS Toxic Substances Control Division (later
Department). According to the US EPA, Region IX website, the site cleanup process has
progressed in five phases: an initial action phase (1980-1984) and four long-term remedial
action phases (1984-present). The latter phases include the installation of a pre-treatment
plant, contaminant source control, the cleanup of the lower canyon, and the hydraulic
control and cleanup of the contamination affecting the community water supply wells. The
site is geographically divided into four zones as follows: Zone 1 - On-site/Upper Mid-Canyon
Area, Zone 2 - Mid-Canyon Area, Zone 3 - Lower Canyon Area, and Zone 4 - Glen Avon
Community.
Since 1996, the Department of Toxic Substances Control, a branch of the California
Environmental Protection Agency, has maintained operational control at Stringfellow, with
the US EPA serving as an oversight agency. Treatment of the hazardous waste site is
ongoing.
| 1955: | James B. Stringfellow, owner of the Stringfellow Quarry Company, was contacted by California officials to discuss the creation of a 17-acre hazardous waste dump on his property. |
| 1956: | In August, Stringfellow began operating a class I hazardous waste disposal facility permitted by the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB). |
| 1969: | Excessive rainfall caused the disposal ponds at Stringfellow to overflow into Glen Avon. |
| Parents of Jurupa, Inc., a non-profit corporation of Glen Avon residents, was established with the goal of closing down the Stringfellow HazardousWaste Site. | |
| 1972: | The Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site ceased operation as a disposal facility in November, and closed permanently in December. |
| 1974: | The State of California gained control of the Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site, with the RWQCB serving as the responsible party. |
| 1978: | Excessive rainfall caused the disposal ponds at Stringfellow to overflow into Glen Avon a second time. |
| 1980: | The United States Congress passed the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act. Known as the "Superfund," the Act provided $1.6 billion for the emergency cleanup of chemical spills and hazardous waste dumps. |
| 1981: | Responsibility for the Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site passed from the RWQCB to the California Department of Health Services (DOHS). |
| 1983: | The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) officially placed the Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site on the national priority list for the federal Superfund. |
| 1984-Present: | Cleanup activities, jointly managed by the US EPA and DOHS Toxic Substances Control Division, began at the Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site. Treatment is ongoing. |
| 1996: | The Department of Toxic Substances Control, a branch of the California Environmental Protection Agency, assumed operational control at Stringfellow, with the US EPA serving as an oversight agency. |
The Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site collection contains technical reports, media
clippings, correspondence, public records, ephemera, notes, government publications,
photographs, and other material regarding the Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site, a Class I
industrial waste disposal facility in Glen Avon, California, that operated from August 1956
to November 1972. Materials also document the community activism of Glen Avon resident Ruth
Kirkby. Media clippings document local news coverage of the site and are primarily from
Riverside County and Los Angeles County newspapers. The Ruth Kirkby papers capture the
political agency exercised by Kirkby on behalf of the Glen Avon community. Papers pertain to
Kirkby's involvement with entities aimed at eradicating the Stringfellow Hazardous Waste
Site, and her active pursuit of records documenting the Stringfellow Quarry Company's
activities in Riverside County. Field studies, treatments, and other projects undertaken by
local, state, federal, and private agencies at the site are recorded in technical
reports.
This collection is arranged into three series as follows:
- Series 1. Media clippings, 1960-1987, undated.
- Series 2. Ruth Kirkby papers, 1951-2005, undated.
- Series 3. Technical reports, 1983-2009.
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the
library's online public access catalog.
California. Department of Health Services. Alternative Technology Section
California Environmental Protection Agency. Department of Toxic Substances
Control
Kirkby, Ruth, 1914-2007
Parents of Jurupa, Inc.
Pyrite Canyon Group
Santa Ana Watershed Project Authority
(Calif.)
Superfund Program (U.S.)
United
States. Environmental Protection Agency. Region IX
Glen Avon (Calif.)
Hazardous waste site remediation
Hazardous waste treatment facilities
Public records
Stringfellow Hazardous Waste Site (Calif.)
Clippings
(information artifacts)
Compact
discs
Correspondence
Ephemera
Notes
Photocopies
Photographs
Reports