$6m fine to advance US chemical site cleanup

07 January 2008 21:56  [Source: ICIS news]

WASHINGTON (ICIS news)--US environmental officials said on Monday that $6m (€4m) in penalties assessed against Champion Chemical Co. will enable accelerated remediation at the firm’s former New Jersey facility.

 

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) said that anticipated payment by Champion Chemical of the $6m penalty plus some $174,000 in past-due assessments will allow serious remediation work to begin at the company’s contaminated former site at Morganville, New Jersey.

 

Rich Cahill, spokesman at the agency’s New York City regional office, said work done thus far by EPA and New Jersey state environmental agencies at the site has focused chiefly on containment and limiting off-site effects of years of contamination at the 15-acre complex.

 

Imperial Oil Company, Inc., which had leased the site from Champion Chemical, also was a respondent firm in the EPA’s Superfund action for the site.

 

According to the agency, Champion Chemical and Imperial Oil agreed in a 2001 consent settlement to make monthly payments to EPA of $12,500 toward remediation of the New Jersey plant site, but that payments were not made.

 

Cahill said that subsequent to the consent settlement, Imperial went bankrupt, leaving Champion Chemical responsible for the payments.

 

The agency filed suit in federal district court in New Jersey early last year to enforce the 2001 consent agreement and payment by Champion.  In finding in EPA’s favour last month, the court ordered Champion to make the agreed payments and also imposed a penalty of more than $6m.

 

“This case proves that EPA does not take agreements with companies that violate federal laws lightly,” said EPA regional administrator Alan Steinberg.

 

Company officials were not immediately available for comment.

 

($1 = €.68)

By: Joe Kamalick
+1 713 525 2653

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