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Record $21 Million Settlement For Environmental Damages At Palmerton Zinc Site
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State and federal environmental and wildlife agencies have signed an agreement with five companies to compensate the Commonwealth and the federal government for $21 million for significant environmental damages associated with the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site in Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties.
“This is Pennsylvania’s largest-ever natural resources damage settlement and it represents a significant financial assessment and the transfer of valuable property to the commonwealth,” said Environmental Protection Secretary John Hanger. “We are proud to have participated with the other state and federal organizations to finalize this historic settlement.” The settlement includes a cash payment of nearly $10 million from CBS/Westinghouse of Pennsylvania Inc., the current owner of a portion of the site; CBS Operations Inc.; TCI Pacific Communications Inc.; HH Liquidating Corp.; and HRD Liquidating Corp., successor companies of the zinc smelting and zinc recovery operations in Palmerton Borough and Lower Towamensing Township, Carbon County; Washington Township, Lehigh County; and Lehigh Township, Northampton County. In addition, these companies also will pay $2.5 million for damage assessment costs, discharge a $300,000 mortgage on the Wildlife Information Center at Lehigh Gap Nature Center and transfer to the Pennsylvania Game Commission 1,200 acres of valuable property known as Kings Manor. The property is valued at over $8 million. The settlement was developed by a team formed under the provisions of the federal Superfund law, the Clean Water Act and Hazardous Sites Cleanup Program. The trustees of the team were authorized to seek compensation for damages to the resources that were impaired by releases of hazardous materials from the former New Jersey Zinc and its successors. The trustees are DEP, the Game Commission, the Fish and Boat Commission, the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The areas surrounding the site, including the Blue Mountain, Aquashicola Creek and the Lehigh River, were impacted by historic zinc smelting and recovery operations, which emitted contaminants such as zinc, lead, arsenic and cadmium into the environment. The payments and property transfer will be used by the state and federal agencies to restore, replace or acquire equivalent natural resources impacted as the result of operations at the site. A restoration plan will be developed by the trustees. “On behalf of Governor Edward G. Rendell and the residents of the Commonwealth, the department is pleased to announce this settlement. We feel it is equitable compensation for past environmental damages in the Palmerton area,” added Secretary Hanger. Fish & Boat Commission “While this settlement is the largest natural resource damage settlement to date in Pennsylvania, it can never fully compensate for the environmental damage done to the aquatic resources of that area and the services that they provided,” said PFBC Executive Director Douglas Austen. “The losses occurred over decades. Our hope is that following the restoration planning process, we will be able to restore, replace or acquire the equivalent of the natural resources that were injured and the services, such as fishing, that were lost.” Austen also thanked his employees for the work they put in helping the trustees make their case. “The employees in our Division of Environmental Services deserve special praise for the work they did and the long hours they contributed in helping to establish the legal foundation for this case,” he said. The companies’ cash payment will be deposited into the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Trust Fund. State and federal agencies will use the funds to restore, replace, or acquire the equivalent of natural resources impacted by the site. A restoration plan will be developed for public comment by the trustees. The trustees in this case include: the U.S. Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service and National Park Service, the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Department of Environmental Protection, the Game Commission, the Fish and Boat Commission and the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. In addition, the companies agreed to pay $2.5 million for damage assessment costs and to discharge a mortgage worth $300,000 on the Wildlife Information Center (Lehigh Gap Nature Center), a non-profit conservation and environmental education organization, located at the Lehigh Gap. “The funds and property recovered from this settlement will result in a cleaner, restored environment to counteract the damages that were incurred as a result of the years of harmful emissions from smelter operations,” said John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This settlement is a result of a cooperative effort by federal and state trustees.” A consent decree has been filed with the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania and is subject to a 60-day public comment period. It is available online. |
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8/10/2009 |
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