Orange County prosecutors have declined to file any criminal charges against the operators of a Garden Grove plastic manufacturing plant where a chemical leak forced mass evacuations earlier this year, but the company has agreed to establish a $100 million damages claim program for impacted residents and businesses, the District Attorney’s Office announced on Monday.
The damages program is part of ongoing negotiations seeking to reach a civil settlement between GKN Aerospace Transparency Systems Inc. and the District Attorney’s Office, which had been conducting a criminal investigation into the May leak and its aftermath. Prosecutors said the overall civil settlement will also likely include financial penalties, a safety plan for the plant’s continued operation and reimbursement for the costs of first responders and other government agencies that responded to resolve the situation.
District Attorney Todd Spitzer announced in late May that his office was conducting a criminal investigation into the leak, which prompted the evacuation of roughly 13,000 to 17,000 households, or more than 50,000 people…