EPA v. PAR INDUSTRIES CORPORATION

Case summary

The Southern District of West Virginia has approved an amendment to a 2017 ability-to-pay consent decree requiring PAR Industries, Inc. to reimburse a portion of EPA?s past costs by selling unused parts of its Nitro plant property and paying a percentage of the sales price to the U.S. The amendment (1) corrects the process for approval of the subdivision plans, (2) approves PAR?s request for additional time to appraise the property to be sold, and (3) adds a provision that will allow the parties to effectuate future non-material changes to the Consent Decree without the necessity of a motion requiring court approval. In December 2011, EPA completed a removal action at PAR Industrial Site in WV which included removal and disposal of 45 transformers, 6 pieces of miscellaneous electrical equipment, and 177 tons of wastes containing hazardous substances, including PCB contaminated water, PCB transformer oil, and contaminated debris. In 2017, EPA entered a settlement between the United States and PAR under which PAR would pay $300,000 in installments and sell all unused land within the PAR Industrial Park. PAR has completed its payments and is in the process of complying with the sales requirements. The U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia approved an ability to pay consent decree in connection with the PAR Industrial Site in Nitro, Putnam County, West Virginia. Under the proposed Consent Decree, PAR Industrial Corporation will (1) pay $300,000 to the EPA Hazardous Substance Superfund in three installments over three years; and (2) sell all unused land within the PAR Industrial Park within two years and pay EPA 90% of the first $1 million in ?net sales proceeds? (?NSP?) and 85% of the NSP thereafter. In return, PAR will receive a site-wide covenant not to sue, subject to standard reopeners. The amount to be paid to EPA under this settlement is estimated at approximately $1.73 million against past costs of approximately $2.6 million. The Site consists of two non-contiguous buildings located on a single parcel of land where leaking transformers containing oil contaminated with PCBs (?PCB Transformers?) had been stored for a number of years. The 83-acre parcel (?Property?) is currently owned by PAR, which operated a demolition and salvage business on the Property for a number of years. In the course of its business, PAR obtained the PCB Transformers and stored them on the Property. Currently, PAR leases a small portion of the Property to commercial tenants and derives a modest income from this activity. EPA Region 3 TSCA inspections conducted at the Property in 1987, 1988, and 1990 revealed the presence of numerous PCB Transformers. A joint EPA/FBI criminal investigation in 1992 led to the indictment of PAR President John Pizzuto, who subsequently pled guilty to failing to report the presence of PCB Transformers on the Property, failing to properly mark PCB storage areas and containers, and unlawfully storing PCBs. Follow up inspections by EPA in 2009 revealed the presence of numerous PCB Transformers, as well as drums, tanks, and other containers at the Property which contained PCB oil. In March 2011, the Region selected a removal action which included the removal and off-site disposal of PCB-contaminated oil, drained transformers, contaminated concrete and debris, and contaminated soil. The removal action was performed between June and December 2011. As a result of the removal action, 45 transformers, 6 pieces of miscellaneous electrical equipment, and 177 tons of wastes containing hazardous substances, including PCB-contaminated water, PCB transformer oil, and contaminated debris, were removed from the Site.

Defendants (1)

• PAR INDUSTRIES CORPORATIONNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• PAR INDUSTRIAL CORPORATION

  PLANT ROAD, NITRO, WV, 25143

  Registry ID: 110054878842

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 107A — Cost Recovery

Enforcement conclusions (2)

• PAR INDUSTRIES CORPORATIONentered 2017-11-09

  Primary law: CERCLA

• PAR INDUSTRIES CORPORATIONentered 2024-04-02

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (5 milestones)

• 2013-09-25Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2013-09-30Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2016-02-18Complaint Filed With Court
• 2024-03-27Final Order Lodged
• 2024-04-02Final Order Entered