EPA v. CHEMTRONICS SUPERFUND SITE

Case summary

APRIL 14, 2022 - CONSENT DECREE Chemtronics, Inc. and Northrop Grumman Systems Corp. have agreed to conduct a remedial action at the Chemtronics Superfund Site (the Site) in Swannanoa, Buncombe County, North Carolina. The settlement agreement is memorialized in a Consent Decree, which requires the companies to spend an estimated $18.2 million to remediate contaminated soil and groundwater at the Site. The soil remediation component of the agreement requires the excavation and off-site disposal of approximately 700 cubic yards of contaminated soil. The groundwater remediation component requires enhanced in-situ bioremediation (EISB) for contaminated groundwater. EISB involves the placement of microbes, nutrients, and/or other amendments into groundwater to enhance biological degradation of contaminants. The groundwater will also be monitored to evaluate the reduction in the mass, toxicity, mobility, volume, and concentration of contaminants. All remedial work by the companies will be overseen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and its contractors. This remedial action is intended to be the final remedy for the Site. The Site is the location of an inactive manufacturing facility that operated from 1952 to 1994. Various waste products and byproducts associated with the former manufacturing operations were generated and disposed of on-site, including chlorinated and non-chlorinated solvents, acidic solutions, and solid waste such as gloves and coveralls. Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., one of the settling parties, is the successor-in-interest to Northrop Carolina, Inc., which owned the Site from 1965 to 1978 and operated there from 1965 to 1971. Chemtronics, Inc., the other settling party, is the current owner of the Site and the successor-in-interest to a company of the same name (Chemtronics, Inc.), which operated at the Site beginning no later than 1977 and acquired title to the Site in 1978. The cleanup is being accomplished under the federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), commonly known as Superfund. The Superfund law protects human health and the environment while safeguarding taxpayer dollars by holding parties that contributed to contamination responsible for cleaning it up. Since 1980, EPA�s Superfund program has managed the cleanup of the nation�s most hazardous waste sites and has responded to environmental emergencies, oil spills, and natural disasters.

Defendants (3)

• CNA HOLDINGS, LLC
• NORTHROP GRUMMAN SYSTEMS CORP.Named in complaintNamed in settlement
• CHEMTRONICS, INC.Named in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• CHEMTRONICS INC

  180 OLD BEE TREE ROAD, SWANNANOA, NC, 28778

  Registry ID: 110071100129

Statutes cited

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

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• CHEMTRONICS SUPERFUND SITEentered 2022-04-14

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (6 milestones)

• 2017-08-16PRN Sent
• 2017-10-05Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 2020-09-22Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2020-09-29Complaint Filed With Court
• 2020-09-29Final Order Lodged
• 2022-04-14Final Order Entered