PG&E Hinkley Chromium Cleanup

PG&E Compay, Hinkley Compressor Station, Chromium Contamination Cleanup

PG&E’s Compressor Station is located approximately two miles southeast of the town of Hinkley and a dozen miles west of Barstow in the Mojave Desert of San Bernardino County. Between 1952 and 1966, PG&E used hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium 6, to fight corrosion in cooling tower water.  The wastewater from the cooling towers was discharged to unlined ponds at the site.  Some of the wastewater percolated to the groundwater, resulting in hexavalent chromium pollution.  The chromium affects an area of groundwater approximately two miles long and nearly a mile wide.  

PG&E is under orders from the Lahontan Water Board to stop plume expansion and clean up the chromium plume.  Below are certain documents related to some of those activities.  All documents associated with the project are available at the Barstow Library and at the Lahontan Water Board office in Victorville.  Documents may be reviewed during regular business hours.

• Announcement of a Public Meeting in Hinkley - February 26, 2008
• Fact Sheet on Groundwater Cleanup Projects, February 2008 - PDF 76kb
• Tentative General Waste Discharge Requirements for PG&E Chromium Cleanup
• Draft CEQA Document Supporting Mitigated Negative Declaration for General Permit
• Fact Sheet on Groundwater Cleanup Projects, February 2007 - PDF 4.8MB
  (Note that the Fact Sheet identifies a Ranch Land Treatment Unit project that is no longer being considered)
• Map of Chromium Plume
  • August 2007
  • February 2007
  • August 2006

For further information regarding this web page and the PGE Hinkley project, contact Chuck Curtis at (530) 542-5460.