Casmalia Resources

Overview

The Casmalia Resources site is a 252-acre inactive commercial hazardous waste facility in northern Santa Barbara County, California. It was added to the National Priorities List on September 13, 2001. The site accepted hazardous waste for treatment, storage, and disposal before closing in 1991. EPA selected the long-term cleanup approach in a Record of Decision issued in June 2018, and construction of cleanup work began in April 2020 and is still ongoing.

More than 130 chemicals have been identified as contaminants of concern. They include volatile organic compounds such as trichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, benzene, and vinyl chloride in groundwater and soil vapor. Groundwater also contains PCBs, heavy metals like arsenic, lead, mercury, and chromium, pesticides including endrin and heptachlor, and more than 90 chemicals that exceed drinking water standards. Chlorinated dioxins and furans are present in soil and sediment. Five surface ponds exceed ecological risk levels, and shallow waste materials and contaminated soils pose risks to wildlife. The site contains habitat for threatened species including the California red-legged frog, California tiger salamander, and Western spadefoot.

Settlements with more than 2,100 potentially responsible parties have recovered more than 120 million dollars to fund cleanup. In September 2024, EPA finalized a settlement with fifteen additional de minimis parties, generating over 1.3 million dollars more. Cleanup work includes engineered capping systems, excavation, grading, closure and reconfiguration of stormwater ponds, and installation of about 400 monitoring wells and probes. Upcoming work includes additional capping, extraction and treatment of contaminated subsurface liquids, and expanded monitoring systems. A portion of the groundwater is designated as a Technical Impracticability Zone, where cleanup standards are not expected to be met within a reasonable timeframe. EPA has determined that human exposure is currently under control and groundwater migration is stabilized, though construction is not yet complete.

EPA completed a Five-Year Review in September 2025. That review found the cleanup will be protective of human health and the environment once all remedy construction is finished. Routine environmental monitoring with comprehensive sampling occurs twice per year. Land and water use restrictive covenants are recorded on the facility and adjacent properties to control land use and limit access.

Community members can stay involved through EPA outreach. An open house was held in October 2024 to discuss current and future work. Fact sheets are available in English and Spanish on the site webpage. The Community Involvement Coordinator and the Remedial Project Manager are available for questions.