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Tronox will fight $280M bill from EPA(Daily Oklahoman, The (KRT) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Sep. 13--The federal government has filed a $280 million claim on Tronox Inc., claiming the Oklahoma City company is responsible for the costs of cleaning up a wood treatment plant in New Jersey that closed more than 50 years ago. Tronox, which disclosed the civil action Friday in a regulatory filing, said it "vehemently disagrees" with the Environmental Protection Agency claims and will defend itself "vigorously" against the lawsuit. "Tronox LLC did not operate the site, which was sold to a third party before Tronox LLC seceded to the interests of a predecessor in the 1960s," the company said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. "Based on historical records, there are substantial uncertainties about whether, or under what terms, the predecessor assumed any liabilities for the site." Tronox never owned the site Tronox never owned the land that now is a Superfund site where the plant last operated in the 1950s, company spokeswoman Debbie Schramm said. The property was sold for residential and other development before Tronox's parent company acquired a business that held the assets of the former operator, Schramm said. EPA claims that Tronox is responsible for the clean-up costs are "very questionable," Schramm said. The 50-acre plot of land was the location of a creosote plant from 1910 to the mid-1950s, the lawsuit said. Coal tar creosote is used as a wood preservative. The EPA has determined that coal tar creosote is a probable human carcinogen. The agency found creosote contamination in the soil and groundwater at the former plant site. Assets transferred to Kerr-McGee In 1964, Kerr-McGee purchased a company that held assets once belonging to the company that operated the wood treatment plant, according to the suit. The lawsuit claims that Kerr-McGee, before it was purchased by Anadarko Petroleum in 2005, transferred ownership to Tronox and spun off the local chemical company into an independent business. The EPA claims Tronox, as successor to the former owner and operator, now must reimburse the government at least $280 million for the extensive clean-up of the land. The EPA relocated some residents from the site and has removed 451,000 tons of contaminated soil from the site. Tronox already has been struggling to boost its revenues and cut spending. The company, one of the world's leading producers of titanium dioxide, also has considered seeking bankruptcy protection to reorganize its business. Tronox shares rose 3 cents to close Friday at 35 cents. To see more of The Oklahoman, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.newsok.com. Copyright (c) 2008, The Oklahoman Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |