EPA v. NOCATEE HULL CREOSOTE SITE

Case summary

BIG CASE: The Nocatee Hull Creosote Superfund Alternative Site (Site) operated as a wood treatment plant from 1913-1952, performing creosote treatment of railroad ties. The creosote plant formerly operated on Site was constructed by the Charlotte Harbor and Northern Railway Company (CH&NRC) in 1912 or 1913 to treat railroad ties. CH&NRC, later Seaboard System Railroad, Inc., operated the facility until 1952. The Site is currently inactive and owned by CSX Transportation, Inc. (CSXT). CSXT is the Site’s only Potentially Responsible Party (PRP). The Site is located approximately 8 miles south of Arcadia, Florida and about 1 mile west of U.S. Highway 17, on Hull Avenue, in Hull, DeSoto County, Florida. The Site is a currently inoperative, the former wood treatment facility released contaminants into the environment during its operations. The Site’s primary contaminants of concern include: creosote-related polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), BETX (benzene, toulene, ethylbenzene, and zylene) and arsenic. The contaminants affected Site soils, groundwater and sediments to the extent that remediation is necessary. The United States developed a consent decree to be entered into between itself and the PRP. Under the terms of the Consent Decree (CD), CSXT will: pay EPA’s Past Site Costs of $57,634.36; fund the estimated $11,200,000.00 Remedial Design and Remedial Action (RD/RA) for the Site; and reimburse EPA for Future Oversight Costs. On Thursday, July 1, 2010, the United States filed a Civil Complaint (2:10-cv-00418-JES-SPC) and Consent Decree for Remedial Design and Remedial Action for the Site in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida (Court), Fort Myers Division. The CD was lodged with the Court on July 2, 2010. The Federal Notice announcing the lodging of the CD with the Court was made in the Federal Register/Vol. 75, No.130, Thursday, July 8, 2010. A public comment period followed the Federal Notice of CD lodging. A public comment was filed during the comment period. The United States responded to the one public comment received during the comment period. On September 15, 2010, EPA responded to the one public comment, through an affidavit from EPA’s Remedial Project Manager (RPM). The Order for entry of the CD was issued by the Court on September 23, 2010, and the CD was entered by the Court on September 23, 2010.

Defendants (1)

• CSX TRANSPORTATION, INC.Named in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• NOCATEE HULL CREOSOTE

  HULL AVENUE, NOCATEE, FL, 34268

  Registry ID: 110009275266

Statutes cited

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

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• NOCATEE HULL CREOSOTE SITE (04-2010-C022)entered 2010-09-23

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (7 milestones)

• 2008-12-18Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2009-01-15PRN Sent
• 2009-09-30Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2010-07-01Final Order Lodged
• 2010-07-01Complaint Filed With Court
• 2010-09-23Final Order Entered
• 2010-09-23Concluded