Lawsuit settlement gives state $2 million for cleanup of Modesto Superfund site
The state will receive $2 million from a court-approved settlement to help reimburse cleanup costs at a Superfund site in Modesto.
The settlement is for past and future costs of remediating soil and groundwater contamination caused by a former dry cleaning business on McHenry Avenue, the Department of Toxic Substances Control said in a news release Wednesday.
The federal Superfund site, called Modesto Groundwater Contamination, was placed on the Environmental Protection Agency’s national priority list in 1989.
Halford’s Cleaners was operated at 941 McHenry Ave. for decades until it closed in 2025. The business allegedly discharged a hazardous chemical into the ground, contaminating the groundwater and nearby sewer lines, the DTSC news release said.
The substance, perchloroethylene (PCE), is known to cause cancer. The common solvent for removing stains from clothes may contaminate soil and groundwater. The vapors also can permeate buildings.
The consent decree last week settled a federal court case brought by DTSC against defendants Suzanne Lyon, Russell Tonda and Diane Tonda, named as current owners of the dry cleaner property. The settlement was negotiated by the DTSC and the defendants to avoid prolonged litigation, according to court documents.
Attorney Robert Goodman, representing the defendants, said the property owners never operated the dry cleaner. He said the DTSC and EPA pursued his clients for a number of years to recover cleanup costs.
“They are very happy to put this nightmare behind them,” Goodman said. “It was a long process of negotiations.”
California’s DTSC has assisted the federal EPA with cleanup activities. It took over operation of groundwater extraction in 2012 and has maintained monitoring wells since 2024. Use of PCE by dry cleaners was phased out in California by 2023.
The city of Modesto over the years has been deeply involved with complex litigation over PCE contamination. The city sued Dow Chemical, two other companies and several dry cleaners in the 1990s for their roles in PCE contamination of Modesto’s groundwater. The pollutant also is called tetrachloroethylene.
Modesto was awarded $4 million in damages in 2022 for one of the dry cleaner sites.
According to the EPA, PCE discharged from Halfords Cleaners contaminated a city water well about 1,200 feet away. The Superfund site near McHenry and Roseburg avenues was contaminated by PCE released over a 50-year period.
According to EPA information on the Superfund Site, the contamination is being addressed by federal and state actions and potential action by responsible parties.
A system operational since 2000 has treated about 342 million gallons of water, removing 720 pounds of PCE. The cleanup system was switched to intermittent operation in 2019, based on improved conditions, but it returned to full operation in 2021 because the soil remained contaminated.
Three years ago, the system was expanded to address remaining contamination.
A San Luis Obispo Tribune investigation found there are about 7,500 dry cleaner sites in California, and it’s estimated that three-fourths have been sources of PCE pollution.
