The clock is ticking for Boeing and the state, which now have just 3 ½ months to come to a consensus on a new consent order that will guide the cleanup of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory.

Boeing, the largest property owner at the site, was previously left out of a draft order that was released by the Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) in August. That document did include field lab stakeholders NASA and the Department of Energy.

But with the two-year statute of limitations about to expire for Senate Bill 990, which requires the contaminated site be cleaned up to the highest standards, and community concern that Boeing would file a lawsuit and ultimately delay the cleanup, the two sides decided to enter into an “interim tolling agreement.”

This agreement—announced on Oct. 12, just two days before the deadline to sue—temporarily extends the statute of limitations, giving Boeing and the DTSC until Feb. 15 to resolve the issues that have prevented the signing of a new order.

Rick Brausch, field lab project director for DTSC, said the end date was chosen to be “aggressive.”

“I think the concern is that to prolong it too long takes pressure off of wanting to come to resolution,” he said. “We feel like if we can’t resolve the issues that are unresolved by then, we may never.”

If an accord can’t be reached by February, Boeing may turn to litigation. But Boeing spokesperson Kamara Sams said the company hopes it won’t come to that.

“I can say that we are definitely hopeful and confident that we can work this out before that time period,” she said.

Negotiations to draft a new order that includes the provisions of SB 990 began in January. The sticking point has been Boeing’s desire for specific language in the document that would give the company the same legal protections afforded to the federal agencies.

Boeing wants this reservation of rights and a permanent tolling agreement included in the final order to preserve the company’s ability to challenge SB 990 should it find it’s unable to meet the law’s stringent standards, Sams said. She added that the inclusion of such language would not jeopardize the cleanup.

Brausch said the difficulty the DTSC is faced with is balancing the responsible parties’ legal concerns with the community’s fears that the final order could be backed out of at any time.

DTSC and Boeing, along with the Department of Energy and NASA, spent the past week in negotiations to meet the first of the milestones required by the agreement. The state was planning to release today a new draft order that includes Boeing.

The state will hold public meetings throughout the next few months.

For more information or to view the agreement, visit www.dtsc-ssfl.com.