On May 10, 2002, the Debtor, Metachem Products, LLC (Metachem), filed a voluntary petition for relief under chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. At that time, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, EPA Region III (EPA), requested the assistance of the Department of Justice in this matter.
Metachem is a potentially responsible party (PRP) at the Standard Chlorine of Delaware Superfund Site, which is located along Governor Lea Road in Delaware City, New Castle County, Delaware. The Standard Chlorine Superfund Site was listed on the National Priorities List (NPL), pursuant to Section 105 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), on July 22, 1987. On March 9, 1995, EPA issued a Record of Decision (ROD) to select a remedy for the Site. On May 30, 1996, EPA issued a Unilateral Administrative Order to Standard Chlorine of Delaware, Inc. (Standard Chlorine), the owner and operator of the facility at the time, for the implementation of portions of the March 1995 ROD.
The facility, ownership of which was transferred from Standard Chlorine to Metachem in December 1998, was in the business of manufacturing chlorinated benzene chemicals since about 1996. In late April, 2002, the Debtor contacted EPA to state it was ceasing operations and would no longer be able to comply with the Unilateral Administrative Order that had been issued in May 1996.