Is your water system impacted by TCP contamination?
Since California adopted stringent regulations in 2017, many water systems have faced the challenge of managing 1,2,3-trichloropropane (TCP) in their water supplies. The State's regulation limits TCP levels in drinking water to 5 parts per trillion (ppt), a standard that has been difficult for many water providers to meet. From schools and community water systems to large utilities, all may experience financial and logistical burdens in treating this harmful chemical.
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Recent Success Stories
Through our work, we’ve secured major settlements for water systems, schools, and businesses impacted by TCP contamination. These results demonstrate our commitment to ensuring that the responsible parties—not community members—should bear the costs of water cleanup.
Sunny Slope Water Company
Recovered the costs of TCP contamination, ensuring that the cleanup burden wasn’t passed on to ratepayers.
Golden State Water Company
Secured funds to cover the costs of building two new water treatment plants and other contamination response costs, protecting customers from the financial burden.
These victories, and many others, highlight how we help communities recover from the devastating impacts of water contamination while holding the polluters accountable.
Read our success storiesOver the last five years alone, SL has obtained more than $155 million in legal settlements for water systems, schools, and agribusinesses affected by TCP contamination in their water.
What is TCP, and why is it a problem?
TCP is a human-made chemical that has contaminated groundwater throughout California, particularly in areas with a history of agricultural use. From the late 1940s through the 1980s, large chemical companies like Shell and Dow produced pesticides containing TCP, which were used to combat nematodes that harmed crops like citrus. These chemicals were widely used by farmers, who were unaware of the risk they posed to groundwater and public health.
The financial burden of TCP contamination
Treating TCP contamination is costly. In many cases, water systems face treatment costs up to millions of dollars. For these systems, legal action against the manufacturers of TCP-containing pesticides may be the best option to recover cleanup costs. The good news? These lawsuits can help water systems avoid passing those costs onto their ratepayers.
Guiding your water system through the TCP challenge
At SL Environmental, we have spent the past 5+ years helping water systems, agribusinesses, and schools navigate the complex legal and technical aspects of TCP contamination. Our goal is to work alongside you and guide you through the process, helping you understand your legal options and the next steps for treatment and recovery.
How we can help
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Collaborative strategy
We do the heavy lifting
No upfront costs
We provide our services on a contingency fee basis. This allows water systems to retain us without any upfront or ongoing fees or litigation costs.
Unmatched water litigation experience
We have 20+ years of experience, exclusively representing water suppliers in contamination cases, including 1,2,3-TCP, MTBE, p-CBSA, PCE, PCBs, and PFAS. The polluters we aim to hold accountable know that we are highly experienced in our field.
Less work for your organization
Our water litigation experience in TCP cases allows us to be time efficient, both preparing for and during the lawsuit.
Recover costs while protecting your community
We go after the big corporations that manufactured the contaminants, protecting both ratepayers and local communities.
“The SL team is organized and highly knowledgeable about water contamination issues. If any question came up, they immediately had the answer. Bottom line, we achieved what we set out to do — win.”
Ken Tcheng
Our attorneys are licensed in various jurisdictions, including California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Hampshire. Please refer to individual attorney bios for specific licensure.
This web site is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.