EPA v. KRESTCO, INC.

Case summary

1. EMERGENCY LETTER REFERRAL OF BANKRUPTCY MATTER: IN RE: KRESTCO, INC., U.S. BANKRUPTCY COURT FOR THE EASTERN DIS- TRICT OF TEXAS, SHERMAN DIVISION, CASE NO. 90-40287-BKC- RAM (CHAPTER 7). 2. KRESTCO, INC., A DELAWARE CORPORATION INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 121 AND RAILROAD ROAD LEWISVILLE, DENTON COUNTY, TEXAS 75028 3. THE SITE WAS FORMERLY AN ALUMIUM AND VINYL EXTRUSION AND COATING FACILITY. THE LAND USE SURRONDING THE SITE IS IN- DUSTRIAL. THE SITE WAS REFERRED TO THE EMERGENCY RESPONSE BRANCH OF REGION 6 EPA BY TRNCC. UPON INVESTIGATION, A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS IN 55-GALLON DRUMS, FLOOR SUMPS/PITS AND SMALL CONTAINERS. THE RESULTS OF THE IN- VESTIGATIONESTABLISHED THE NEED FOR AN IMMEDIATE REMOVAL ACTION. ON MARCH 28,1995, EPA INITIATED A CLASSIC EMERGENCY RE- MOVAL ACTION AT THE SITE. ALL REMOVAL, CLEANUP AND DIS- POSAL ACTIONS WERE COMPLETED BY MAY 4, 1995. IN PERFORM- ING THE RESPONSE ACTION AT THE SITE, EPA INCURRED COSTS OF APPROXIMATELY $300,000. KRESTCO, INC. FILED FOR REORGANIZATION UNDER CH. 11 OF THE BANKRUPTCY CODE ON FEB. 27, 1990. THE CASE WAS CON- VERTED TO A LIQUIDATION UNDER CH. 7 OF THE BANKRUPTCY CODE ON MAR. 3, 1991. LINDA PAYNE WAS APPOINTED TRUSTEE FOR THE KRESTCO ESTATE. THE TRUSTEES UNDERTOOK ADMINIS- TRATION AND LIQUIDATION OF THE ASSETS OF KRESTCO, BUT CONCLUDED THAT THERE WERE NO ASSETS TO BE LIQUIDATED FOR THE BENEFIT OF CREDITORS. AS A RESULT, ON JAN. 21, 1993, THE KRESTCO BANKRUPTCY CASE WAS CLOSED. IN SEPT. 1995, THE TRUSTEE BECAME AWARE OF A $15,000 BANK ACCOUNT OWNED BY KRESTCO AND REOPENED THE CASE WITHOUT NOTIFYING EPA. ON JUL. 14, 1997, THE TRUSTEE FILED A MOTION TO APPROVE AN OPTION AGREEMENT AND FOR AUTHORITY TO SELL PROPERTY FREE AND CLEAR OF LIENS, CLAIMS AND ENCUMBRANCES. EPA WAS NOT SERVED WITH THE MOTION. IN THE MOTION, THE TRUSTEES INDICATED THAT UNIVERSAL DIS- LAY & FIXTURES CO. TO PURCHASE THE PROPERTY. NO PROVIS- IONS WAS MADE FOR PAYMENT OF EPA'S PAST RESPONSE COSTS. A HEARING ON THE MOTION IS SET FOR WED., OCT. 8, 1997. 4. RELIEF SOUGHT PURSUANT THE EMERGENCY LETTER REFERRAL, THE REGION RESPECTFULLY REQUESTS IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE IN OP- POSING THE TRUSTEE'S MOTION TO APPROVE OPTION AGREEMENT AND FOR AUTHORITY TO SELL PROPERTY FREE AND CLEAR OF LIENS, CLAIMS AND ENCUMBRANCES. IN ADDITION, EPA SEEKS ASSISTANCE IN SUPPORTING AN APPLICATION FOR ADMINISTRA- TIVE EXPENSES FOR ITS COSTS IN CONNECTION WITH THE SITE.

Defendants (1)

• KRESTCO, INC.Named in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (1)

• KRESTCO, INC.

  608 HWY 121 & RAILROAD AVE, LEWISVILLE, TX, 75028

  Registry ID: 110010734875

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 107 — Superfund

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• KRESTCO, INC.entered 1998-01-23

  Primary law: CERCLA

Timeline (6 milestones)

• 1997-09-29Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 1997-10-06Enforcement Action Data Entered
• 1998-01-22Complaint Filed With Court
• 1998-01-23Final Order Lodged
• 1998-01-23Final Order Entered
• 1998-01-23Concluded