EPA v. AGWAY INC, ET AL

Case summary

SITE WAS THE LOCATION OF A DRUM AND BARREL RECYCLING FACILITY, WHICH BECAME CONTAMINATED THROUGH RECYCLING AND DRUM CLEANING OPERATIONS. PRPS INCLUDE GENERATORS WHO ARRANGED FOR THEIR USED INDUSTRIAL DRUMS, CONTAINING RESIDUES OF HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES, TO BE SENT TO THE FACILITY; TRANSPORTERS WHO COLLECTED DRUMS FROM THE GENERATORS AND THE CORPORATE OWNER AND INDIVIDUAL OPERATORS OF THE SITE. BECAUSE THE OWNER-OPERATOR IS DEFUNCT, AS ARE CERTAIN GENERATOR PARTIES, THERE IS AN ORPHAN SHARE AT THE SITE. 43 DEFENDANTS NAMED IN THE COMPLAINT. EPA'S ROD ISSUED 3/31/00 (IMPLEMENT) WHICH SELECTED A REMEDY FOR ADDRESSING THE CONTAMINATION AT THE SITE. IT INVOLVES EXCAVATION & OFF-SITE TREATMENT OF SOILS & SEDIMENT, RESTORATION OF IMPACTED WETLAND, EXTRACTION & TREATMENT OF CONTAMINATED GW, IMPLEMENTING DEED RESTRICTIONS PROHIBITING USE OF GW WELLS AT THE SITE UNTIL GW CLEANUP STANDARDS ARE ACHIEVED AND LONG-TERM MONITORING OF GROUND & SURFACE WATERS. IN MAY 1992, 14 PRPS PERFORMED A RI/FS PURSUANT TO AN AOC. RESPONSE COSTS INCURRED IN CONNECTION W/ SITE. On October 23, 2015, a supplemental referral was sent to DOJ seeking to amend the original Consent Decree and on November 5, 2015, the Amendment was lodged. An Amendment to an existing consent decree for remedial design and remedial action at the Tri-cities Barrel Superfund site was entered in US District Court for Northern District of New York on February 4, 2016. The Original Consent Decree became effective in 2001 and required 43 settling defendants to implement a soil and groundwater remedy at a fifteen acre parcel that became contaminated through operation of a drum and barrel reconditioning facility. The remedy was selected in a record of decision issued by EPA in 2000, estimated at a cost of $20,400,000, in order to restore the Site for unrestricted use. The soil portion of the remedy has been completed by the settling defendants and, in 2011, EPA amended the remedy set forth in the 2000 ROD by changing the groundwater component of the remedy to monitored natural attenuation (MNA), except for an area of the Site approximately 120 feet long by 80 feet wide by 30 feet deep where remediation was determined by EPA to be technically impracticable from an engineering standpoint. The estimated cost of the MNA remedy is $1,774,000.

Defendants (63)

• GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANYNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• JONES CHEMICALS INCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• ASHLAND CHEMICAL COMPANY
• ASHLAND INCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• ATOFINA CHEMICALS INCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• AGWAY INCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• BASF CORPORATIONNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• BORDEN INCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• INT'L PAPER COMPANY ANITEC IMAGE DIVNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• KAPLAN CONTAINER CORPNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• AZON CORPNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• BMC INDUSTRIES INCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB COMPANYNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• BRONSTEIN CONTAINER COMPANY INCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• CARRIER CORPORATIONNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• CHAMPION INT'L CORPNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• CHEMCOAT INCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• COOPER INDUSTRIES INCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• CRASH'S AUTO PARTS& SALES DBA CAP SURPLNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• DAIMLER CHRYSLER CORPORATIONNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• DRAKE OIL COMPANY INCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• EF FOOTWEAR CORP LLC
• EI DU PONT DE NEMOURS & COMPANYNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• EJ FOOTWEAR CORPNamed in complaint
• ELF ATOCHEM NORTH AMERICA INC
• …and 38 more

Facilities (1)

• TRI-CITIES BARREL SUPERFUND SITE

  RTE 7 AT OSBORNE HOLLOW RD, FENTON, NY, 13833

  Registry ID: 110007998836

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 107A — Cost Recovery
• CERCLA 106A — Imminent & Substantial Endangerment Order

Enforcement conclusions (2)

• AGWAY INC, ET ALentered 2001-08-08

  Primary law: CERCLA

• Amphenol Corporation, et al.entered 2016-02-04

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (8 milestones)

• 2000-05-18PRN Sent
• 2000-09-13Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2000-10-24Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2001-05-01Complaint Filed With Court
• 2015-10-23Supplemental Referral-Other
• 2015-11-05Final Order Lodged
• 2016-02-04Final Order Entered
• 2016-02-04Concluded