EPA v. DIVEX, INC.

Case summary

THE SITE INCLUDED THREE SEPARATE PARCELS OF PROPERTY IN AND AROUND COLUMBIA, RICHMOND COUNTY, SC. THE SITE WAS ONE OF THE MOST COMPLEX SUPERFUND SITE IN THE HISTORY OF REGION 4 REMOVAL PROGRAM. THE OWNER & PRIMARY OPERATOR OF DIVEX, INC. WAS JACK SUTHERLAND. THE COMPANY WAS RUN BY MR. SUTHERLAND FROM THE EARLY 1980'S UNTIL 1993 & WAS ENGAGED IN NUMEROUS LEGITIMATE ENVIRONMENTALLY- RELATED SERVICES. IN ADDITION, DIVEX, INC., ENTERED INTO NUMEROUS CONTRACTS FOR TESTING, DEVELOPMENT AND DISPOSAL OF VARIOUS EXPERIMENTAL CHEMICALS AND COMPOUNDS. AS A RESULT, SUTHERLAND ACQUIRED NUMEROUS EXPLOSIVE AND TOXIC MATERIALS DURING THE COURSE OF HIS OPERATIONS. ON 9/6/93, MR. SUTHERLAND WAS KILLED IN A CHEMICAL EXPLOSION WHILE MIXING HIGHLY REACTIVE MATERIALS AT THE MANUFACTURING FACILITY. THE EXPLOSION CAUSED A RELEASE OF EXPLOSIVES, ACID AND OTHER CHEMICAL INTERMEDIARIES INTO THE ENVIRONMENT. EPA'S REMOVAL ACTION BEGAN AS A RESPONSE TO THIS ACCIDENT. THE EPA REGION 4 EMERGENCY RESPONSE AND REMOVAL BRANCH WAS FIRST NOTIFIED OF THE INCIDENT ON 10/22/93, BY SC SENATOR STROM THURMOND, WHO HAD BEEN CONTACTED BY THE RICHLAND COUNTY EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT SERVICES (RCEMS). THE BULK OF THE REMOVAL EFFORT FOCUSED ON CONTAINERIZED MATERIAL, SUCH AS DRUMS, BUCKETS, AND CYLINDERS. THERE WAS VERY LITTLE CONTAMINATED SOIL AND NO CONTAMINATED GROUNDWATER FOUND ON THE SITE. THE LAST PHASE OF THE REMOVAL INVOLVED COMPLEX SITE ASSESSMENT AND SAMPLING & THE FINAL REPORT WAS SUBMITTED IN JANUARY 1997. BUSINESS RECORDS DISCOVERED ON THE SITE LED TO THE SUBMITTAL OF CERCLA 104 INFO REQUESTS TO PARTIES WITH IDENTIFIABLE BUSINESS TRANSATIONS WITH DIVEX, INC. UTILIZING THE 104(E) RESPONSES, THE BUSINESS RECORDS & THE PHYSICAL EVIDENCE FOUND ON THE SITE, E.G., CYLINDER LABELS, EXTREMELY PARTICULAR HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES, EPA IDENTIFIED 37 PRPS & CREATED A TRANSACTIONAL DATABASE LISTING THE PRP'S & THE TRANSACTIONS LEADING TO POTENTIAL LIABILITY ON THE SITE. THE DATABASE WAS UTILIZED TO DEVELOP AN ALLOCATION METHODOLOGY THAT WILL BE UTILIZED IN EPA'S SETTLEMENT STRATEGY WITH THE PRP'S.

Defendants (45)

• CLEMSON UNIVERSITY
• AIKEN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (SC)
• ANDERSON COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS (SC)
• BERKELEY COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS
• BOEING COMPANY, INC.
• CALLERY CHEMICAL CO.
• CATIONICS, INC.
• CHARLESTON COUNTY SCHOOL DISTRICT
• COLUMBIA ORGANIC CHEMICAL CO.
• DOWN CHEMICAL COMPANY
• ELLIOT WHITE SPRINGS HOSPITAL
• ENGELHARD CORP.
• ENSIGN-BICKFORD CO.
• FURMAN UNIVERSITY
• GENERAL DYNAMICS OTS (AEROSPACE)Named in complaintNamed in settlement
• GENERAL DYNAMICS OTS (CALIFORNIA)Named in complaintNamed in settlement
• GERGEL, MAX G.
• HARSHAW/FILTROL PARTNERSHIP
• IT CORP.
• KEWANEE INDUSTRIES, INC.
• LANCASTER SYNTHESIS, INC.
• LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL LABORATORYNamed in complaint
• LOCKHEED ELECTRONICS CO., INC.
• LOCKHEED MARTIN CORPORATIONNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• LOCKHEED SANDERS, INC.
• …and 20 more

Facilities (2)

• DIVEX/LEWAND DRIVE

  LEWAND DRIVE, COLUMBIA, SC, 29203

  Registry ID: 110009262458

• DIVEX/CAUGHMAN ROAD

  CAUGHMAN RD, COLUMBIA, SC, 29203

  Registry ID: 110010617779

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 107A — Cost Recovery

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• DIVEX, INC.entered 2001-10-29

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (6 milestones)

• 2000-02-10Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2000-03-07Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2001-09-20Final Order Lodged
• 2001-09-20Complaint Filed With Court
• 2001-10-29Final Order Entered
• 2001-10-29Concluded