Posted on March 14, 2019
GREEN BAY (WLUK) – No one commented on a proposal for papermaker P.H. Glatfelter to pay at least $20.5 million for Fox River cleanup, so the federal government is asking for the plan to be approved.
Several area paper companies are paying for the removal and capping of PCBs in the river between Appleton and Green Bay.
According to court documents, $20 million would be applied to cover costs previously incurred by the EPA, with the rest applied toward natural resource damages. And, Glatfelter would pay all future EPA and state costs for the remaining work.
This settlement requires Glatfelter and Georgia-Pacific to take responsibility for long-term tasks that will continue for many years after the dredging and cap installation is completed in 2019. The new settlement expands the companies’ obligations under earlier partial settlements and government orders, which already required at least $66 million in expenditures by Glatfelter and at least $154 million by Georgia-Pacific.
The deal was reached earlier this year, but required a public comment period. No comments were submitted, according to documents filed Wednesday. There’s no indication when a judge might approve the settlement.
Since 2009, more than 4.8 million cubic yards of sediment have been dredged. More than 2.7 million tons of sediment has been processed and taken to the landfill for disposal. Total cleanup costs will exceed $1 billion. Dredging is expected to resume this spring.
Source: fox11online.com
