[StBernard] Compliance and Enforcement News Release (Region 6):

[Westley Annis]

ConocoPhillips Company and Sasol North America Agree to Reimburse Costs 

for Calcasieu Estuary, Bayou Verdine Cleanup 

  

Agreement will reimburse EPA Superfund over $4.5 million, resolve nearly$1.2
million in natural resource damages assessment costs, and perform removal
action and restoration project 

  

(DALLAS - October 13, 2010)  The Department of Justice, the Environmental
Protection Agency and the United States Attorney's Office announced today,
the settlement of claims against ConocoPhillips Company and Sasol North
America Inc. to resolve their liability to EPA under CERCLA for
contamination in the Calcasieu Estuary of Louisiana.  The Justice Department
also announced a settlement of claims for natural resource damages against
ConocoPhillips Company and Sasol North America Inc. related to contamination
in the Estuary. 

Under the terms of a consent decree lodged in the federal district court for
the Western District of Louisiana together with a filed complaint,
ConocoPhillips and Sasol North America will reimburse the EPA Superfund more
than $4.5 million and will complete a removal action valued at about $10
million to clean up Bayou Verdine within the Calcasieu Estuary.  The
Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) is also a plaintiff in
the case and party to the settlement. 

  

"These settlements demonstrate the United States' and Louisiana's successful
and continuing efforts to hold polluters accountable for contamination in
the Estuary," said Ignacia S. Moreno, Department of Justice Assistant
Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division.  "The
responsible parties will fund the clean-up and restore the damaged Estuary.
This will provide substantial benefits to the health and environment of the
citizens of Louisiana." 

  

"The United States Attorney's Office remains committed to addressing
environmental concerns in Calcasieu Parish and throughout our entire
district.  Today's filing is an example of the coordination of federal and
state efforts to protect the environment and the health of all area
residents," said United States Attorney Stephanie A. Finley. 

  

"It is important that polluters help pay for clean-up," said EPA Regional
Administrator Al Armendariz.  "Recovering more than $4.5 million is another
milestone in our on-going work to address historical pollution problems in
this area of Louisiana." 

  

Bayou Verdine is a waterway within the Calcasieu Estuary that flows into the
Calcasieu River and is located southwest of the City of Westlake and south
of the City of Mossville, in Calcasieu Parish, Louisiana.  Heavy industry
dominates the southern reaches of Bayou Verdine which is the recipient of
industrial discharges. 

  

ConocoPhillips and Sasol North America previously entered into an agreement
with EPA to perform an Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis of Bayou
Verdine.  The project documented the presence of hazardous substances in the
sediments and water of Bayou Verdine and nearby Coon Island Loop.
ConocoPhillips and Sasol North America also performed a cleanup in the West
Ditch area of Bayou Verdine to address high concentrations of contaminants.
The parties entered into negotiations with the DOJ, EPA and LDEQ to perform
a cleanup of Bayou Verdine and resolve their liability for past and future
response costs for the entire Calcasieu Estuary.  

  

Over the past 10 years, EPA has performed numerous investigations at
abandoned hazardous waste sites, made decisions on cleanup actions,
addressed industrial non-compliance and monitored ozone and other air toxics
associated with the Mossville area.  EPA will continue to work with
Calcasieu Parish and Mossville to address environmental concerns.  

  

As part of a comprehensive settlement, the Department of Justice also
announced the lodging of a second consent decree to resolve the liability of
ConocoPhillips and Sasol North America for natural resource damages in the
Estuary resulting from discharges of hazardous substances.  Over the past
several years, federal and State trustees worked cooperatively with
ConocoPhillips and Sasol North America to assess injuries and to develop a
restoration plan.  Under the terms of settlement with state and federal
natural resource trustees (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA), the Department of the Interior (DOI), the Louisiana
Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ), and the Louisiana Department of
Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF), ConocoPhillips and Sasol North America will
reimburse the federal and state trustees a total of nearly $1.2 million for
a share of past natural resource damages assessment costs, perform
construction of a restoration project selected by the trustees in the Sabine
Wildlife Refuge in accordance with the Final Restoration Plan and
Environmental Assessment for the Bayou Verdine Site, and pay an additional
$750,000 for future monitoring of the restoration project.  

  

A copy of the consent decree is available on the DOJ website at:
www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html
<http://www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html>  

  

More about activities in EPA Region 6:  http://www.epa.gov/region6
<http://www.epa.gov/region6>  

  

EPA audio file is available at
http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/oct2010.html
<http://www.epa.gov/region6/6xa/podcast/oct2010.html>