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Under Settlement, City of Derby, Conn. Will Pay $675,000 for Cleanup Costs at O’Sullivan’s Island Site

Release Date: 10/30/2014
Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1017

BOSTON – EPA and the U.S. Dept. of Justice have reached a settlement with the City of Derby, Conn., for partial reimbursement of EPA’s past costs incurred in addressing contamination at the O’Sullivan’s Island Site.

The proposed consent decree, lodged with the Federal District Court in Connecticut on Oct. 28, 2014, if approved, will require the City of Derby to reimburse EPA for costs incurred by EPA in taking actions from 2008 through 2009 to remove contamination at the O’Sullivan’s Island Site. Under the terms of the Consent Decree, Derby will pay the United States $675,000 by Dec. 31, 2014, or within thirty days of the effective date of the Decree, whichever is later, plus an additional sum for interest.

Under the proposed settlement, the United States will provide Derby with a covenant not to sue or take administrative action against it for past response costs incurred at the Site prior to Aug. 7, 2014. EPA spent approximately $4 million to clean up contamination of the Site as part of a removal action performed pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA or federal Superfund law) in 2008 and 2009. Derby is settling in consideration of its limited financial means, as evaluated by EPA as part of a detailed financial analysis of the settling party’s ability to pay past response costs associated with the Site.

The O’Sullivan’s Island Site is a peninsula located at the confluence of the Housatonic and Naugatuck Rivers in Derby. It includes approximately seven acres of land currently used primarily for recreational purposes, including fishing and walking. Derby remains the current owner of the Site, which it purchased from the State of Connecticut in 1963. Past uses of the Site include training at The Valley Fire Training School from 1964-1976, and as a source of sand and gravel for both a local concrete company and the nearby Derby landfill.

In June 2008, the Valley Council of Governments requested assistance from EPA to remove polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) contaminated soil from the Site. As part of this time-critical removal action, EPA removed and disposed of approximately 14,000 tons of contaminated soil and about 50 exposed and degraded 55-gallon drums. EPA’s total costs for performance of the removal action were approximately $4 million. The current Consent Decree is a settlement of these costs.

More information:

- The Consent Decree will be available for public review and comment for 30 days, following posting on the Dept. of Justice Web site: http://www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html

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