State And Federal Governments Settle Final Issues In Historic Niagara Falls Landfill Pollution Case

Attorney General Spitzer and Environmental Conservation Commissioner John P. Cahill today announced a historic settlement in a Niagara Falls pollution case that has been in litigation for 20 years. The Proposed Consent Decree, filed today in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, is subject to Court approval.

Today's settlement resolves remaining issues in the environmental pollution case against Occidental Chemical and Olin Corporations. It provides $6.5 million dollars to reimburse the federal and state governments for the cost of bringing the lawsuits and overseeing the development and implementation of a remedy.

Under a 1990 administrative order issued by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with the State's concurrence, the two companies have been carrying out a government remediation plan for the 102nd Street Landfill site, which is now near completion. The landfill is located between the Love Canal site to the north and the Niagara River to the south in Niagara Falls, New York.

"When the State became involved in this case 20 years ago, it did so with the goal of protecting the health and safety of the public and the environment," said Spitzer. "I am pleased that my office has played a significant role in achieving those objectives and in forcing those responsible for the pollution to pay for the clean-up and restoration of the area."

DEC Commissioner John P. Cahill said:

"I am very pleased that this long-running case is finally being settled, and that the Department of Environmental Conservation was able to secure a very significant natural resource damages claim as part of this agreement. As a result, a half million dollars will be invested in restoring and protecting the natural environment in the Niagara Falls area, including invaluable wetlands restoration in Buckhorn Island and other sites along the Niagara River."

The defendants will pay more than six million dollars to the United States and just over $600,000 to the State for past response costs and interest.

The agreement also requires the companies to pay $500,000 which will be used by the state and federal natural resources trustees to restore the injured natural resources. In addition, because the remedy resulted in the loss of 2.9 acres of wetlands in the the Niagara River, the companies will also fund two wetland restoration projects -- one on the Niagara River in Tonowanda and the other at Buckhorn Island State Park on Grand Island.

The companies used the site from the 1940's until 1970 for the disposal of hazardous wastes from their respective chemical manufacturing businesses. Hundreds of thousands of tons of hazardous waste were disposed of at the landfill.

The remediation work includes the installation of a synthetic cap over the landfill; the injection of a clay-like wall around the sides of the landfill, a system for the removal of contaminated leachate as well as monitoring. Periodic reviews of the site will continue to ensure that the health and safety of the public and environment are protected.

Aside from the Attorney General's Office, the state and federal agencies that have worked worked on this case include the State Departments of Environmental Conservation and Health, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The federal government brought suit against the defendants in 1979 to force them to cleanup the site and pay damages and penalties. The State joined the suit that same year.

The agreement was handled by Assistant Attorney General Norman Spiegel and scientist Jodi Feld in Spitzer's Environmental Protection Bureau and Craig Jackson, P.E. and Joseph Looby, Esq. from the DEC. A 30-day public comment period will follow the settlement's publication in the Federal Register.