Fredrick
Well-known member
Natural Resources under Fish & Boat Commission Jurisdiction to Benefit from $21 Million Settlement
Harrisburg, PA — The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) today announced that state and federal agencies have successfully reached a $21 million settlement over environmental damages stemming from a Superfund site in Northeast Pennsylvania’s Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties.
“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.
Under the agreement with the U.S. Justice Department and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, five companies have agreed to pay approximately $21.4 million in cash and property to compensate for natural resource damages resulting from decades of zinc smelting operations at the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund site, located about 25 miles north of Allentown.
CBS Operations Inc., TCI Pacific Communications Inc., CBS/Westinghouse of Pa. Inc., HH Liquidating Corp. and HRD Liquidating Corp., agreed to make a cash payment of $9.875 million and to transfer 1200 acres of valuable property, known as the Kings Manor property and valued at approximately $8.72 million, to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
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 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania 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.”
The settlement will resolve claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response and Compensation Act, also known as the Superfund law, the Clean Water Act and the Pennsylvania Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, under which federal and state trustees of natural resources are authorized to seek compensation for damages to resources that are injured by releases of hazardous substances.
The Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site consists of a broad area impacted by emissions of contaminants from historic zinc smelting operations and more recent zinc-recovery operations at a plant site located 25 miles north of Allentown. Over 90 years of smelting operations by the former New Jersey Zinc Co., emitted hazardous materials including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese and zinc into the surrounding environment through air emissions and the release of solid wastes.
Large quantities of the hazardous materials were carried by wind and deposited over surrounding areas resulting in defoliation and contamination of thousands of acres throughout the ridge and valley area of eastern Pennsylvania. The National Park Service owns and maintains approximately 800 acres of land that has been acquired to protect the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in this area, which winds along the Blue Mountain ridge and through the associated gaps. The Pennsylvania Game Commission also owns several thousand acres of State Game Lands on Blue Mountain. Hazardous materials subsequently contaminated several miles of Aquashicola Creek and the Lehigh River as a result of erosion, surface runoff, and shallow ground water contamination.
CBS/Westinghouse of Pa. Inc., is a current owner of a portion of the Site. CBS Operations Inc., TCI Pacific Communications Inc., HH Liquidating Corp. and HRD Liquidating Corp., are successors of the zinc smelting and zinc recovery operators.
The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, is subject to a 60-day comment period and final court approval. The consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site at www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
The mission of the Fish and Boat Commission is to protect, conserve, and enhance the Commonwealth’s aquatic resources and provide fishing and boating opportunities. For more information about fishing and boating in Pennsylvania, please visit our website at www.fishandboat.com.
Harrisburg, PA — The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC) today announced that state and federal agencies have successfully reached a $21 million settlement over environmental damages stemming from a Superfund site in Northeast Pennsylvania’s Carbon, Lehigh and Northampton counties.
“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.
Under the agreement with the U.S. Justice Department and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, five companies have agreed to pay approximately $21.4 million in cash and property to compensate for natural resource damages resulting from decades of zinc smelting operations at the Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund site, located about 25 miles north of Allentown.
CBS Operations Inc., TCI Pacific Communications Inc., CBS/Westinghouse of Pa. Inc., HH Liquidating Corp. and HRD Liquidating Corp., agreed to make a cash payment of $9.875 million and to transfer 1200 acres of valuable property, known as the Kings Manor property and valued at approximately $8.72 million, to the Pennsylvania Game Commission.
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 Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission and the Pennsylvania 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.”
The settlement will resolve claims under the Comprehensive Environmental Response and Compensation Act, also known as the Superfund law, the Clean Water Act and the Pennsylvania Hazardous Sites Cleanup Act, under which federal and state trustees of natural resources are authorized to seek compensation for damages to resources that are injured by releases of hazardous substances.
The Palmerton Zinc Pile Superfund Site consists of a broad area impacted by emissions of contaminants from historic zinc smelting operations and more recent zinc-recovery operations at a plant site located 25 miles north of Allentown. Over 90 years of smelting operations by the former New Jersey Zinc Co., emitted hazardous materials including arsenic, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead, manganese and zinc into the surrounding environment through air emissions and the release of solid wastes.
Large quantities of the hazardous materials were carried by wind and deposited over surrounding areas resulting in defoliation and contamination of thousands of acres throughout the ridge and valley area of eastern Pennsylvania. The National Park Service owns and maintains approximately 800 acres of land that has been acquired to protect the Appalachian National Scenic Trail in this area, which winds along the Blue Mountain ridge and through the associated gaps. The Pennsylvania Game Commission also owns several thousand acres of State Game Lands on Blue Mountain. Hazardous materials subsequently contaminated several miles of Aquashicola Creek and the Lehigh River as a result of erosion, surface runoff, and shallow ground water contamination.
CBS/Westinghouse of Pa. Inc., is a current owner of a portion of the Site. CBS Operations Inc., TCI Pacific Communications Inc., HH Liquidating Corp. and HRD Liquidating Corp., are successors of the zinc smelting and zinc recovery operators.
The consent decree, lodged in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, is subject to a 60-day comment period and final court approval. The consent decree is available on the Justice Department Web site at www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html.
The mission of the Fish and Boat Commission is to protect, conserve, and enhance the Commonwealth’s aquatic resources and provide fishing and boating opportunities. For more information about fishing and boating in Pennsylvania, please visit our website at www.fishandboat.com.
