GKN Aerospace agrees to $125M settlement over Garden Grove chemical emergency

The Orange County District Attorney's Office announced a proposed $125 million settlement with GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems Inc. and GKN Aerospace Inc. over a May chemical emergency in Garden Grove that forced more than 50,000 residents to evacuate. The agreement requires court approval.

Prosecutors filed the civil case Monday in Orange County Superior Court. The proposed judgment includes up to $100 million for evacuees, $15 million in civil penalties, $8,471,385.50 for emergency response and abatement costs, and at least seven years of independent monitoring.

"Since it is awaiting judicial review, the DA won't be making a comment at this time," OCDA spokesperson Kimberly Edds said.

The office described GKN as a defense contractor. The May 21 evacuation lasted five days after a tank holding an extremely hazardous substance threatened to explode near its facility. An estimated 13,000 to 17,000 households were displaced.

An independent administrator will handle claims. Evacuated residents and businesses may seek hotel and loss-of-use reimbursements, plus per diem payments for meals, transportation and lost wages.

An outside expert will monitor GKN's legal and regulatory compliance for at least seven years. The defendants will pay $1.4 million in monitoring costs and must implement a safety plan.

The $15 million in civil penalties will fund the District Attorney's Office's consumer protection enforcement under Proposition 64.

The payment reimburses Orange County, its Fire Authority, Garden Grove, Cypress, Stanton, Westminster, Anaheim, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the South Coast Air Quality Management District for response costs.

The settlement also reimburses $500,000 that Orange County First District Supervisor Janet Nguyen spent assisting affected people.

Spitzer's environmental team spent months investigating with outside chemical safety experts, including site inspections and document reviews. The office said GKN and its counsel cooperated fully. Defense counsel was unavailable for comment.