EPA REGION II SEEKS TO RECOVER MONIES SPENT AT THE BURNT FLY BOG SUPERFUND SITE LOCATED IN MARLBORO TOWNSHIP, MONMOUTH COUNTY, NEW JERSEY. A DECLARATORY JUDGMENT FOR FUTURE COSTS WILL BE SOUGHT AS WELL. THE RESPONSE COSTS INCURRED BY EPA INCLUDE A REMEDIAL INVESTIGATION, A FEASIBILITY STUDY, A REMEDIAL DESIGN AND A REMEDIAL ACTION. CONTAMINATION AT THE SITE INCLUDES PCBS, HEAVY METALS AND VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS. THERE ARE FOUR PRPS ATE THE SITE THAT INCLUDE TWO OWNERS AND TWO OPERATORS.
DOJ filed a complaint on behalf of EPA against the Defendants and their company on January 15, 1997. The attorney for the Defendants filed an answer, counterclaim, and third party complaint on April 1, 1997. The third party complaint named approximately 80 parties, including the oil companies that are the subject of this settlement. On November 5, 1999, the Court entered an Order Governing Confidential Settlement Negotiations between the oil companies and EPA. Negotiations resulted in the lodging of a Consent Decree with the court on September 5, 2002, which was entered on March 31, 2003.
The first settlement is a peripheral party cashout settlement that resolves liabilities at both the Burnt Fly Bog Superfund Site and the Imperial Oil Co., Inc./Champion Chemical Superfund Site.
Second settlement entered June 25, 2007.
After the court entered the second order, the Defendants realized there was no way they could ever pay the $31 million and requested to settle with