EPA v. Metachem Products, Inc In re

Case summary

On May 10, 2002, the Debtor, Metachem Products, LLC (Metachem), filed a voluntary petition for relief under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. At that time, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region III (EPA), requested the assistance of the Department of Justice in this matter. Metachem is a potentially responsible party (PRP) at the Standard Chlorine of Delaware Superfund Site, which is located along Governor Lea Road in Delaware City, New Castle County, Delaware. The Standard Chlorine Superfund Site was listed on the National Priorities List (NPL), pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), on July 22, 1987. On March 9, 1995, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) to select a remedy for the Site. On May 30, 1996, EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order to Standard Chlorine of Delaware, Inc. (Standard Chlorine), the owner and operator of the facility at the time, for the implementation of portions of the March 1995 ROD. The facility, ownership of which was transferred from Standard Chlorine to Metachem in December 1998, was in the business of manufacturing chlorinated benzene chemicals since about 1996. In late April, 2002, the Debtor contacted EPA to state it was ceasing operations and would no longer be able to comply with the Unilateral Administrative Order that had been issued in May 1996. On May 2, 2002, the EPA On-Scene Coordinator accompanied representatives of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) to the Site to evaluate the conditions at the facility in light of the impending shut-down. The Site contains millions of pounds of hazardous substances that must be transferred to secure vessels and taken off the Site in order to mitigate the imminent and substantial endangerment to public health, welfare, or the environment that they pose. In May, 2002, the Debtor informed EPA and DNREC that, within the context of its bankruptcy petition, it would immediately seek to abandon its environmental assets, which include the real property that it owns on the north side of Governor Lea Road, the manufacturing facility and other fixtures located thereon, and the regulated substances and materials located on the real property and in the facility. During a hearing on May 14, 2002, a negotiated stipulation for abandonment of the environmental assets was presented to the Bankruptcy Court. That stipulation was approved by the Court in its entirety in June 2002. As of August 2001, EPA had incurred costs in excess of $1.2 million in Superfund response activites related in the Site. The bar date for the filing of proofs of claim by governmental units was set at November 7, 2002 at 4:00pm

Defendants (1)

• Metachem Products, IncNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• STANDARD CHLORINE OF DELAWARE/METACHEM PRODUCTS

  745 GOVERNOR LEA ROAD, NEW CASTLE, DE, 19720

  Registry ID: 110000338554

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 107A — Cost Recovery

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• Metachem Products, Inc In reentered 2005-03-10

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (7 milestones)

• 2002-05-12Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2002-10-01Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2002-11-06Complaint Filed With Court
• 2005-02-09Final Order Lodged
• 2005-03-10Enforcement Action Closed
• 2005-03-10Concluded
• 2005-03-10Final Order Entered