Meghan Hodges
Erin Brockovich is an American paralegal, consumer advocate, and environmental activist who built a case against Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E) involving groundwater contamination in Hinkley, California. The case was settled in 1996 for $333 million, the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in US history at the time. Brockovich's work on the case inspired a 2000 biographical legal drama film, Erin Brockovich, starring Julia Roberts, who won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Brockovich. Since the film's release, Brockovich has continued to crusade for access to safe water, working on other contaminated groundwater cases and testifying on Capitol Hill about the importance of documenting and tracking cancer clusters.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Company Sued | Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) |
| Location | Hinkley, California |
| Year | 1993 |
| Settlement | $333 million ($668 million in 2024) |
| Chemical | Hexavalent Chromium (Chromium-6) |
| Cleanup | PG&E has been working to clean up the groundwater since the 1996 settlement |
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What You'll Learn
The case against Pacific Gas & Electric Company
In 1993, Erin Brockovich, an unemployed single mother of three, worked with lawyer Edward L. Masry to build a case against the Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E). The case centred around groundwater contamination in Hinkley, California, caused by the dumping of chromium 6-tainted wastewater into unlined ponds near the town. Chromium 6, or hexavalent chromium, is a carcinogen used to suppress rust formation. PG&E used it at their compressor station plants in their cooling towers along their natural gas transmission pipelines.
The contamination affected an area of approximately 2 square miles (5.2 km2) near the plant. The residents of Hinkley filed a lawsuit with the help of Brockovich, and in 1996, the case was settled for $333 million (the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in US history to that date). The PG&E site had been under the regulations of the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) since 1968, but the company did not inform the local water board of the contamination until December 7, 1987, stalling action on a response.
The story of Erin Brockovich and the Hinkley case was dramatized in the 2000 film of the same name, starring Julia Roberts, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Brockovich. The film brought attention to the issue of water pollution and the impact of corporate pollution on communities.
Brockovich has since been involved in other anti-pollution lawsuits and has continued to advocate for the people of Hinkley. In recent years, PG&E has faced further legal troubles, including lawsuits related to wildfires in California and a pipeline explosion in 2010.
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PG&E declared bankruptcy
PG&E, or the Pacific Gas and Electric Company, declared bankruptcy in 2019, citing liability for the devastating 2017 and 2018 wildfires in Northern California as the primary reason. The company's power lines were found to be the cause of these wildfires, which resulted in billions of dollars in damages, over a hundred fatalities, and significant environmental impact.
PG&E filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a process overseen by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The bankruptcy proceedings began on January 29, 2019, with PG&E Corporation, the parent corporation, taking the lead. The company aimed to emerge from bankruptcy by June 30, 2020, a deadline imposed to allow PG&E to participate in California's state wildfire insurance fund.
During the bankruptcy process, PG&E faced scrutiny for its role in the wildfires and its inability to deliver electricity reliably. Governor Newsom called out the company's "greed and mismanagement" and threatened state intervention if a resolution was not reached. The bankruptcy also raised concerns about the financial impact of wildfires on the utility sector, with experts warning that other utilities could face similar risks.
The CPUC played a crucial role in regulating PG&E's bankruptcy process, ensuring that the company's customers continued to receive safe and reliable service at reasonable rates. The commission considered the impacts of PG&E's proposed reorganization plan on ratepayers and worked to balance the interests of all stakeholders.
On May 28, 2020, the CPUC approved PG&E's reorganization plan with certain conditions, and on July 1, 2020, PG&E officially emerged from bankruptcy. The company was able to exit bankruptcy successfully, thanks to the efforts of all involved parties, including the CPUC, PG&E's management, and the bankruptcy court.
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The largest settlement in a direct-action lawsuit
In 1996, Erin Brockovich, an American paralegal, consumer advocate, and environmental activist, helped a group of residents from Hinkley, California, win a massive direct-action lawsuit against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E). The settlement amount of $333 million ($668 million in 2024 values) was the largest ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in US history at that time.
The lawsuit was initiated in 1993 when Brockovich, working with lawyer Edward L. Masry, built a case against PG&E involving groundwater contamination in Hinkley. It was discovered that PG&E's facility in the town had been contaminating the groundwater with hexavalent chromium (chromium-6), a carcinogen used to suppress rust formation at the Hinkley gas compressor station. The chemical was dumped into an unlined pond in the 1950s and 1960s, and it seeped into the town's groundwater.
The contamination affected an area of approximately 2 square miles (5.2 square km) near the plant. The lawsuit alleged that the groundwater contamination led to a spike in serious illnesses and chronic conditions among residents. After contentious legal proceedings, PG&E settled with the affected residents in 1996. The law firm Masry & Vititoe, for which Brockovich worked as a legal clerk, received $133.6 million ($268 million in 2024 values) of the settlement, while Brockovich received $2.5 million ($5.01 million in 2024 values) as part of her fee.
While the settlement was a significant victory for the residents of Hinkley, the town continues to struggle with the toxic legacy of PG&E's pollution. In recent years, PG&E has declared bankruptcy following the California wildfires, raising questions about the future of the Cleanup and Abatement Order in Hinkley. Despite these ongoing challenges, Brockovich's work in the landmark case has left a lasting impact on environmental activism and legal proceedings.
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The contamination of Hinkley's water
In 1993, Erin Brockovich, an unemployed single mother of three, initiated a legal case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) over groundwater contamination in Hinkley, California. Brockovich, working with lawyer Edward L. Masry, built a case accusing PG&E of contaminating the groundwater in Hinkley with hexavalent chromium, also known as chromium-6.
PG&E operated a compressor station in Hinkley for its natural-gas transmission pipelines. From 1952 to 1966, the water in the cooling towers at the Hinkley station contained hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen, to prevent rust in the machinery. The waste water was discharged into unlined ponds, allowing it to seep into the town's groundwater.
The contamination affected an area of approximately 2 square miles (5.2 km2) near the plant. In 1968, the Regional Water Quality Control Board (RWQCB) put the PG&E site under its regulations. However, PG&E did not inform the local water board about the contamination until December 7, 1987. In 1993, Brockovich investigated a cluster of illnesses in the community, which were linked to hexavalent chromium.
The case was settled on July 2, 1996, for $333 million (around $634 million in 2023), making it the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in US history at that time. As of 2011, Brockovich was once again rallying residents and sampling the water in Hinkley, as new tests revealed that the contaminated area was twice as big as the utility's estimates.
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PG&E's cleanup of the tainted groundwater
In 1993, Erin Brockovich, an unemployed single mother of three, began an investigation into the health impacts of groundwater contamination in Hinkley, California. Brockovich built a case against the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), which was dumping chromium-tainted wastewater into unlined ponds, allowing it to percolate into the groundwater.
As a result of Brockovich's efforts, PG&E was required to discontinue its use of chromium 6 and clean up the contaminated groundwater. PG&E's cleanup efforts have been ongoing since the 1990s, and by 2008, the company had settled the last of the Hinkley claims. However, progress has been slow, and as of 2022, Hinkley is still known as the "Erin Brockovich town" because it is nearly abandoned and the water is still toxic.
PG&E has attempted to remediate the contaminated groundwater in several ways. They built a concrete barrier about half a mile long to contain the plume, pumped ethanol into the ground to convert chromium 6 to chromium 3, and planted acres of alfalfa. By 2014, however, chromium from PG&E's historical releases at the Hinkley Compressor Station had migrated from the upper aquifer to the lower aquifer, causing hexavalent chromium concentrations in the lower aquifer to exceed drinking water standards.
In 2015, the Lahontan Water Board adopted a comprehensive cleanup order, and the California Regional Water Quality Control Board released Cleanup and Abatement Order No. R6V-2015 Proposed. Despite these efforts, as of 2024, chromium-6 levels in Hinkley's groundwater remain dangerously high, with some wells testing at 2,500 times the state's safety standard. PG&E's cleanup has removed 89% of the contaminant, but the company has faced criticism for slow progress and resistance to more stringent regulatory goals.
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Frequently asked questions
Erin Brockovich sued the Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) for groundwater contamination in Hinkley, California.
The case was settled in 1996 for $333 million, the largest settlement ever paid in a direct-action lawsuit in US history at the time.
PG&E was found liable for dumping hexavalent chromium (chromium-6), a toxic chemical used to suppress rust formation, into an unlined pond in the ''50s and '60s. The chemical then seeped into the town's groundwater.
PG&E has been working to clean up the contaminated groundwater in Hinkley. However, it is unclear how the company's bankruptcy filing after the 2018 California wildfires will affect the cleanup efforts.
Yes, Brockovich participated in other anti-pollution lawsuits, including one against the Whitman Corporation for chromium contamination in Willits, California. She has also received requests for help with groundwater contamination complaints from all over the US and internationally.
