LSI 2010 NRD Santa Fe final conference binder 072110.pdf

Angus Macbeth of Sidley Austin LLP Speaker 24b: 15
9. 2008
a. CERCLA
Dana Corp.: In June 2008, the Justice Department reached an agreement to resolve
environmental claims in the bankruptcy of Dana Corp. The settlement, which involved six
superfund sites in five states, included $3,120,000 allocated to the Departments of Commerce
and Interior for natural resource restoration and assessment.
C. Washington
BNSF Skykomish (Former Maintenance and Fueling Facility): Under the terms of a
proposed consent decree, BNSF will complete a $50 million, four-year comprehensive clean-up
of bunker C and diesel fuel from historic railyard operations that contaminated soils,
groundwater, and Skykomish River sediments; and pay $5.5 million to settle its NRD liability
with the state of Washington. The $5.5 million will be used to restore natural resources and
compensate for lost recreational opportunities as follows: $2.5 million for fish and aquatic
habitat protection and restoration in the Skykomish and Snohomish watersheds; $1.5 million
toward the town of Skykomish’s planned wastewater treatment project to protect ground and
surface water quality; and $1.5 million for terrestrial and waterfowl habitat projects and
compensation for lost recreational opportunities (this $1.5 million includes a credit of $350,000
for levee improvements already completed, $50,000 for in-kind services done in coordination
with the town, and $50,000 is dedicated to address turbidity violations that occurred in the
cleanup of the levee in 2006). 34
D. New Jersey
Between the inception of New Jersey’s program in 1993 the end of 2003, the New Jersey Office
of Natural Resource Restoration (ONRR) settled oil spill and hazardous waste site cases that
totaled more than $42,000,000 in natural resource damages. 35
34 BNSF Skykomish Fact Sheet (June 2007), available at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/pubs/0709043.pdf.
35 NJDEP ONRR 2003 Settlement/Restoration Report, available at
http://www.nj.gov/dep/nrr/reports/nrd_update2003l2.pdf.
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Law Seminars International | Natural Resource Damages | 07/16/10 in Santa Fe, NM