1994 Asarco authorized to emit Hexavalent Chromium; meanwhile Erin Brockovich in 1993 had begun work against PG&E... the case was settled in 1996

"...Additionally, ASARCO will emit other compounds, which are included in its PM and VOC emissions. In November 1994, an uncontested amendment to Permit No. 20345 was granted by 17 the Commission. The purpose of the amendment was “ to adjust heavy metal emission rates from the original representations to actual rates that were measured during required stack sampling.”18 According to that amendment, the following compounds were authorized to be emitted at various 19 locations and in various amounts:
(from Oct. 27, 2005 SOAH Judges' statement)

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"Erin Brockovich-Ellis (born Erin L. E. Pattee June 22, 1960 in Lawrence, Kansas) is a legal clerk who, despite the lack of a formal law school education, was instrumental in constructing a case against the $28 billion Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), of California in 1993....The case alleged contamination of drinking water with hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium (VI), in the southern California town of Hinkley. At the center of the case is a facility called the Hinkley Compressor Station, part of a natural gas pipeline connecting to the San Francisco Bay Area and constructed in 1952. The case was settled in 1996 for $333 million, the largest settlement ever paid in a direct action lawsuit in U.S. history." (Wikipedia)