Orange County is demanding that GKN Aerospace, the company whose Garden Grove facility caused the chemical crisis that led to the evacuation of six cities, pay more than $4 million to cover costs arising from the emergency.
The multi-million dollar loan is intended to reimburse the county for costs incurred in dealing with the incident, which forced about 50,000 residents to flee as firefighters warned that a 7,000-capacity chemical tank was at risk of exploding or spilling.
In a letter sent Friday demanding payment, district attorneys called the May 21 incident a “catastrophic failure” of the company’s chemical storage tank cooling system.
“This incident was clearly not an unexpected accident as GKN has a well-documented history of violations at the building dating back ten years,” said the letter, obtained by The Times.
The company, according to district attorneys, has faced citations from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health and more than $900,000 in fines from the South Coast Air Quality Management District for past violations.
GKN Aerospace officials did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
In May, a methyl methacrylate pressure tank began to fail at the company’s Garden Grove facility. The chemical inside the tank continued to heat dangerously, and the cooling system in the area was unable to reduce the temperature.
A crack was found in the tank, and firefighters say it is at risk of leaking or exploding as internal pressure continues to build.
The incident has raised many questions, including from government authorities. In June, the FBI issued warrants to the agency. GKN officials at the time said they were cooperating with the investigation.
“The blame for this disaster lies solely with GKN and the county should not bear the brunt of these costs,” Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen said in a statement.
The letter to the company includes a list of costs received by county agencies during the emergency, including $2.7 million for the Orange County Sheriff’s Department, more than $233,000 for the county sheriff’s office and $195,000 for the County Health Agency. It also included $500,000 in discretionary funds allocated to the administration to help affected residents.
Additional costs incurred by the Orange County Fire Authority — estimated at $2.8 million — were not included in the $4-million total.
“The district is working hard to stay in a very good financial position and now we have ten agencies with large expenditures and the OC Fire Authority,” Nguyen said. “We need a refund.”
GKN has previously pledged more than $3 million to nonprofit organizations, including the OC Community Resilience Fund launched by the United Way, to help residents and business owners.
But in a letter to GKN management, the county argued that the donation did not relieve the company of debt or costs incurred by taxpayers.
“The district is seeking immediate financial accountability to mitigate the impact of the emergency public services,” the letter said.
In the letter, the district attorneys also requested that the company preserve all records, materials and physical evidence related to the incident due to the possibility of future litigation.
