EPA v. WELLS G&H

Case summary

EPA has entered into two settlements relating to the Olympia Property, one of five source areas comprising Operable Unit 1 of the Wells G&H Superfund Site located in Woburn, Massachusetts. One part of the property, owned by Juniper Development Group, LLC, contains a trucking warehouse. The other part, owned by Olympia Aberjona, LLC, contains wetlands. A previous Settlement Agreement required the prior owners to perform a removal action to address TCE-contaminated soil and VOC-contaminated groundwater on the wetlands portion of the property. Under this recent Prospective Purchaser Agreement (PPA), two limited liability companies, created by investor Brookfield Asset Management Inc., will become the new owners of the property and will enhance and accelerate the removal action and pay EPA for all of its future response costs, with the exception of 20% of oversight costs, in exchange for a covenant not to sue from the United States. The estimated cost of the remaining removal action work is $2-3 million. Under the 122(h) Agreement, the prior owners paid EPA $1.2 million in partial reimbursement of EPA's past response costs, in exchange for a covenant not to sue for past response costs. Both agreements became effective on the date of the property transfer, which occurred on February 13, 2023.

Defendants (3)

• Olympia Aberjona LLCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• Juniper Development Group LLCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• Olympia Nominee TrustNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• WELLS G&H

  ABERJONA RIVER VALLEY, WOBURN, MA, 01801

  Registry ID: 110009290310

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 122H — Administrative Cost Recovery Settlement

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• WELLS G&H (OU1)entered 2023-02-13

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (3 milestones)

• 2022-11-17Complaint Filed/Proposed Order
• 2023-02-13Final Order Issued
• 2023-05-12Enforcement Action Data Entered