Source: United States Department of Justice
The Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a proposed consent decree that requires seven potentially responsible parties (PRPs) to clean up contamination at the Tremont City Barrel Fill Superfund site in German Township, Ohio, at an estimated cost of $27.7 million.
The complaint was filed simultaneously with the proposed consent decree in the District Court for the Southern District of Ohio. The complaint alleges that the PRPs, Chemical Waste Management Inc., Franklin International Inc., International Paper Co., The Procter & Gamble Co., PPG Industries Inc., Strebor Inc. and Worthington Cylinder Corp. are liable for the cleanup because they are either former owners and operators of the barrel fill or sent wastes to the site for disposal.
“Today’s settlement requires those responsible for the contamination to clean up the Tremont Barrel Fill site,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “The cleanup provided by this agreement will benefit the public health and surrounding community.”
“Today’s agreement is a huge win for the community and sets the stage for this important cleanup to finally begin,” said EPA Region 5 Administrator Debra Shore. “This is a critical step toward the remediation of the site and will minimize risks to the community and the environment.”
The Tremont City Barrel Fill site is a closed industrial waste landfill that covers 8.5 acres. From 1976 until 1979, when operations ceased, about 51,500 drums and 300,000 gallons of industrial liquid waste were disposed in waste cells at the site.
The proposed consent decree requires the PRPs to excavate and characterize drums and uncontained waste in the barrel fill. All liquid waste and nearly 1,000 drums containing hazardous substances, known as still-bottom waste, will be disposed off-site. The remaining hazardous and non-hazardous solid waste will be disposed on-site in a newly constructed hazardous waste landfill.
The consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval and will be available for public review on the DOJ website.
More information about the site is available on the Tremont City Barrel Fill website.