EPA v. DICO INC AND TITAN TIRE CORP

Case summary

On February 1, 2021, the Consent Decree between the United States, Dico/Titan, and the city of Des Moines was entered by the Court, resolving years of litigation between the U.S. and Dico/Titan. Pursuant to this settlement, Dico/Titan will pay $11.5M to the U.S. and transfer the Dico property to the city of Des Moines. As a condition of receiving the property at no cost, the city is required to perform certain work at the Site, commensurate with the value of the Dico property, to enable redevelopment and ensure remedy protectiveness. Specifically, the city has agreed to perform operation and maintenance of the groundwater treatment system and the asphalt cap at the Site, estimated to cost approximately $1.5M over the next 30 years. Although not considered CERCLA response actions, the city plans to demolish certain buildings at the Site not covered by the Record of Decision and add clean fill material to augment the cap and raise the grade at the Site. With approximately $2.9M of the settlement proceeds from Dico, the EPA will update the 35-year-old air stripping tower with an updated tray stripper and demolish and dispose of Buildings 1-3 (which are contaminated and part of the OU2/OU4 ROD). The EPA will also excavate contaminated sediments from the South Pond Area. The EPA and the city of Des Moines continue to coordinate with an interested developer for the Site regarding assessment work and necessary planning documents. EPA recently provided comments and approved a material management plan. The developer is proposing building a minor league soccer stadium on the Site. The Consent Decree was lodged on September 22, 2020 and received no public comments during its 30-day public comment period. DOJ filed a motion to enter on October 23rd. Judge Pratt filed a request for a joint submission of additional information on November 2, 2020. The joint submission was filed on December 1 and the Consent Decree was entered by the Court on February 1. The settlement provides a clear path for site cleanup and future redevelopment of the site. The litigation also resulted in significant cost recovery for the U.S. and sets an important precedent on the issue of CERCLA arranger liability.

Defendants (2)

• TITAN TIRE CORPORATIONNamed in complaintNamed in settlement
• DICO INCNamed in complaintNamed in settlement

Facilities (5)

• DICO INCORPORATED

  200 SOUTHWEST 16TH STREET, DES MOINES, IA, 50309

  Registry ID: 110002119537

• DICO INCORPORATED

  200 SOUTHWEST 16TH STREET, DES MOINES, IA, 50309

  Registry ID: 110002119537

• SOUTHERN IOWA MECHANICAL

  3043 PAWNEE DR, OTTUMWA, IA, 52501

  Registry ID: 110037288495

• DICO INCORPORATED

  200 SOUTHWEST 16TH STREET, DES MOINES, IA, 50309

  Registry ID: 110002119537

• DICO INCORPORATED

  200 SOUTHWEST 16TH STREET, DES MOINES, IA, 50309

  Registry ID: 110002119537

Statutes cited

• CERCLA 107A — Cost Recovery

Enforcement conclusions (1)

• DICO INC AND TITAN TIRE CORPentered 2021-03-01

  Primary law: CERCLA

  Federal penalty: $11,500,000

Timeline (5 milestones)

• 2010-08-26Referred To Dept Of Justice
• 2010-08-26Complaint Filed With Court
• 2020-09-24Final Order Lodged
• 2021-03-01Final Order Entered
• 2021-03-24Enforcement Action Data Entered