GARDEN GROVE, Calif. — On May 21, Garden Grove resident Binhyen Bui, her family and more than 50,000 residents were forced to evacuate after a pressurized tank containing a toxic chemical used to make plastics overheated and faced risk of explosion.
During that time, they were staying at hotels and buying food and supplies, all with money that came out of their own pockets.
Now, Bui is wondering if she will be compensated by GKN Aerospace, the company that owns the now decommissioned tank.
“Not only the cost for your meals, for your lodging, but also the mental health,” said Bui.
On Tuesday, the Orange County District Attorney’s office announced that they negotiated a $100 million claim program for residents.
“This is in line with our commitment we mentioned the first time. They do the right thing to make things right with our community,” said GKN Aerospace representative Steve Carlin during a Garden Grove City Council meeting.
Carlin explained that residents will be able to file claims to receive this funding by sometime this fall.
“This program will include reimbursements for eligible damages like hotel stays, meals, transportation, lost wages and lost use,” said Carlin.
Many of the Garden Grove City Council members said this $100 million fund was a great step in the right direction. Mayor Pro Tem George Brietigam said there is still a lot of concern in the community.
“Things have been mitigated. There is no more issue here or whatever the plan is, but you need to be somewhat transparent with it,” said Brietigam.
Carlin said the facility has been working with regulators to make sure it is getting proper oversight and that they are currently going through an independent, court-approved safety plan.
Despite efforts to reinforce safety, the county agreed on Tuesday to sue GKN Aerospace for up to $4 million. They seek to recover costs incurred during the emergency.
“The cost to us in terms of our staffing, in terms of the overtime, in terms of the materials that we had to bring out last minute. The best of the best of the County of Orange came out and helped, so this is purely recovering our costs,” said Orange County supervisor Janet Nguyen.
During Tuesday’s meeting, GKN Aerospace announced that it would be ready to resume full manufacturing operations by Sept. 28. The company also said it will be holding public events in the fall to help residents file claims.
This all comes as the company is in the process of an expansion in Garden Grove that was originally expected to be completed by 2027.