Grand Jury Charges W.R. Grace and Executives 

with Endangerment, Obstruction of Justice, and 

Fraud 

On February 7, the Department of Justice and the Environmental Protection Agency 

announced that a federal grand jury had indicted current and former executives of W.R. 

Grace on 10 counts, including endangering human health and withholding information 

about the dangers associated with its asbestos mining operations in Libby, Montana. The 

indictment states that W.R. Grace and the named defendants knew as early as the 1970s 

that tremolite asbestos was contaminating the company’s vermiculite products. Also, 

their internal testing had revealed potential health problems from tremolite asbestos 

exposure, information they withheld from EPA in violation of the Toxic Substances 

Control Act (TSCA). The indictment also alleges that, despite the evidence of health 

problems identified through the testing, the company allowed vermiculite to be dispersed 

through the community by allowing workers contaminated with asbestos dust to leave the 

mines and distributing vermiculite and tailings for use in the community (e.g., as fill for 

gardens). W.R. Grace and the defendants are also charged with obstruction of justice and 

fraud. Each endangerment charge in the indictment carries a possible 15-year prison 

sentence, and the defendants could get five years for each conspiracy and obstruction 

charge. In addition, the company could be forced to pay fines worth up to twice its 

profits gained from mining at Libby. In addition to the criminal charges outlined in the 

indictment, W.R. Grace may also be ordered to pay restitution to Libby residents. 1,200 

Libby residents are known to have asbestos-related illnesses from exposure to 

vermiculite. 

EPA identified widespread asbestos contamination in and around Libby in 1999, and the 

Libby Mine and other properties owned by the company were designated a Superfund 

site in 2002. In October 2003, a District Court judge ordered W.R. Grace to pay EPA 

$54 million for response costs incurred through December 31, 2001 cleaning up asbestos 

contamination at Libby Mine. 

Leavitt Confirmed as HHS Secretary; Johnson 

Becomes Acting EPA Administrator 

On January 26, 2005, Michael Leavitt, who had served as EPA Administrator since 

November 2003, was sworn in as Secretary of the Department of Health and Human 

Services. With Leavitt’s departure from EPA, Stephen Johnson, a 24-year veteran of 

EPA and President Bush’s selection for Deputy Administrator, became the Acting 

Administrator. Johnson will serve as Acting Administrator until President Bush selects 

and the Senate confirms a replacement. 

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Prior to serving as Leavitt’s Deputy Administrator, Johnson was the Assistant 

Administrator of EPA’s Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS). 

He has also served as Deputy Director of the Office of Pesticide Programs (OPP) and as 

Director of the Registration Division within OPP. 

Johnson holds a B.A. in Biology from Taylor University and an M.S. in Pathology from 

George Washington University. 

Agencies Respond to Crude Oil Spill on 

Kentucky River 

Personnel from EPA Region 4, the State of Kentucky, other federal agencies, and MidValley Pipeline responded to a January 26 pipeline rupture near Perry Park, Kentucky. 

The rupture in a 22-inch pipe released approximately 83,000 gallons of crude oil into the 

Kentucky River, and the oil was carried to the confluence of the Ohio River 16 miles 

downstream by January 31. As of February 2, almost 50,000 gallons of crude oil product 

had been recovered. The emergency response phase has been completed, and most of the 

responders have been demobilized. Water sampling and shoreline assessment are 

ongoing. At the present time, EPA is the lead agency for monitoring responsible party 

cleanup actions under the National Contingency Plan (NCP). The Kentucky Department 

of Environmental Protection will assume the lead agency role for long-term monitoring 

and requiring any additional response actions, as appropriate. 

Current information about the cleanup effort is available through EPA’s On-Scene 

Coordinator website, http://www.epaosc.net/MidValleyPipeline. 

For additional information, contact Art Smith, Federal On-Scene Coordinator, 

smith.art@epa.gov. 

Cleaning Up Superfund Sites Yields Significant 

Benefits, Study Finds 

EPA has announced the release of the draft Superfund Benefits Analysis (SBA). SBA is 

the first comprehensive study of the benefits of Superfund and involves reviewing data 

compiled about Superfund sites between 1980 and 2004, identifying and describing the 

benefits of the Superfund program and where possible quantifying and establishing the 

monetary value of the identified benefits. Some parts of the study are not yet complete, 

pending comment from an Advisory Panel of the EPA’s Science Advisory Board. 

Through the study, EPA has identified health, ecological, materials (i.e., the reduction of 

risk and encouraging the reuse of non-residential properties), and amenities (i.e., 

enhancing a property, as through the destruction of unsightly buildings) as the 

fundamental benefits of cleanups. A property-based valuation method (hedonic pricing 

method) was used to calculate the monetary value of some of the fundamental benefits. 

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The health benefits section of the report describes collected data, and the Advisory Panel 

will provide input on the best method to use for data assessment. The current draft 

summarizes earlier studies that correlate hazardous substance exposure and increased risk 

of acute accidents, birth defects, cancer, and other non-carcinogenic health effects (e.g., 

thyroid dysfunction). Several methods are proposed to quantify ecological benefits, 

including using data from Natural Resource Damage Assessments—assessments made of 

damage to ecological systems. The benefits in terms of materials and amenities cannot 

be quantified, but a description of their value has been provided in the report. 

In addition, EPA identified and described a number of “embedded,” unquantifiable 

benefits, including empowering residents living near Superfund sites through 

participation in the cleanup process, deterring the improper use of hazardous substances, 

improving emergency preparedness, developing new technologies and improving existing 

ones, and benefiting the international community through all the aforementioned benefits. 

The draft report was prepared for the Office of Superfund Remediation Technology 

Innovation. Additional information about the draft report is available online at: 

http://www.epa.gov/superfund/news/benefits.htm. 

For additional information, contact Melissa Friedland, OSRTI, 

friedland.melissa@epa.gov or (703) 603-8864. 

Reuse Plan Completed for Velsicol Chemical 

Corporation Site 

Through a year-long planning process, local stakeholders in St. Louis, Michigan have 

developed a reuse plan for the Velsicol Chemical Corporation Superfund site. To help 

fund the development of the plan, the City of St. Louis received $70,000 in pilot project 

funding through the Superfund Redevelopment Initiative, an EPA program that 

encourages the productive reuse of former contaminated properties. The community 

worked closely with environmental consultants and the Michigan Department of 

Environmental Quality to create the plan. 

The community hopes the site will be actively used by area residents, and to this end, the 

plan recommends: a commercial area that would serve as a gateway to the city, a 

recreation area with a sports fields and trail system, a community area that could include 

an amphitheater, and an education and commemoration area that would teach residents 

about the site’s history. The St. Louis Land Use Committee plans to prioritize the 

redevelopment so that some portions of the site, such as the education and 

commemoration area, can be available for use as soon as possible. The education and 

commemoration area will give visitors the unique opportunity to watch the dredging of 

contaminated sediments on the Pine River from behind a protective wall. 

The Velsicol Chemical Corporation site, where chemicals were manufactured between 

1936 and 1978, was added to the National Priorities List in 1983 after elevated levels of 

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contamination were detected on-site and at the county landfill and golf course. Although 

remediation at the Velsicol site was completed in 1985, high levels of contaminants, 

including DDT, were detected in the Pine River in 1996. 

For additional information, contact James Wilkinson, E2 Inc. Project Manager, (434) 

975-6700, jwilkinson@e2inc.com. 

OSRE Issues Model RD Administrative Order on 

Consent 

By Theodore Kim, Office of Site Remediation Enforcement 

On January 6, 2005, Susan Bromm, the Director of the Office of Site Remediation 

Enforcement (OSRE), issued the “Model Administrative Order on Consent for Remedial 

Design.” The Order signifies EPA’s first such document in this area and represents 

EPA’s attempt to expedite the Remedial Design (RD) where appropriate. To accomplish 

this, the Order bifurcates the RD from the Remedial Action (RA), which is a practice that 

EPA generally disfavors. However, bifurcating the RD from the RA may be beneficial in 

certain site-specific circumstances, such as when a delay is anticipated in the negotiation 

of a RD/RA Consent Decree (CD) or in the lodging and entry of a RD/RA CD in court. 

OSRE ensured that this Order is consistent with the provisions set forth in the May 2001 

Model RD/RA CD, such that this Order should be considered a companion document to 

the CD. 

For additional information, contact Theodore Kim, OSRE, kim.theodore@epa.gov. 

In The Courts 

Settlement for Bayonne Barrel & Drum 

Finalized 

A cost recovery settlement with 37 responsible parties went into effect on January 14 at 

the Bayonne Barrel & Drum site in Newark, New Jersey following expiration of the 30-

day comment period. The parties agreed to reimburse EPA $2,986,500 in removal costs 

incurred through January 31, 2003 in three installments under a CERCLA §122(h) 

administrative order. Region 2 received no comments on the proposed settlement (69 FR 

71408, December 9, 2004). 

The Bayonne site is a former drum reconditioning facility that operated from the early 

1940s until the owner-operator filed for bankruptcy in 1982. Site operations resulted in 

hazardous liquids, solids, and sludges being left on site in drums, surface and 

underground tanks, a wastewater treatment system (oil/water separator) and associated 

plumbing, contaminated buildings, building sumps and pits, and ash piles. The wastes 

included highly toxic compounds such as dioxin, PCBs, acids, and other chemicals. EPA 

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began conducting removal activities in 1994. The Agency established 24-hour security, 

repaired and installed fences, gates, and warning signs, and removed over 16,500 gallons 

of liquid wastes, 46,000 drums, gas cylinders, several ash piles, over 700 tons of whole 

and shredded tires, and 787 tons of scrap metal. 

The settling parties agreed to pay EPA $300,000 by January 31, 2003, another $500,000 

within 30 days after the effective date, and $2,186,500 within 540 days after the effective 

date. Pursuant to EPA's orphan share policy, the final payment is subject to reduction by 

25 percent of the cost of future work the settling parties perform at the site. This offset is 

contingent on EPA reaching agreement with the parties on the work to be performed 

before the final payment is due. 

Eleven of the settling parties are parties to a previous administrative agreement requiring 

them to continue EPA's removal efforts at the site. In that agreement, which went into 

effect on December 27, 2003, these 11 "performing" parties agreed to remove liquids, 

solids, and sludge from the underground and surface storage tanks, the wastewater 

treatment system and associated plumbing, the furnace sumps and pits, abate and remove 

asbestos, demolish buildings, remove solid waste and demolition debris, remove and 

dispose of dioxin and PCB-contaminated ash piles, and repair and maintain the site's 

fences and gates. 

The 11 performing parties have also been conducting a remedial investigation under New 

Jersey Department of Environmental Protection regulations. EPA will use the results of 

that investigation to develop a final cleanup plan, which will determine the amount of any 

orphan share offset in favor of the parties to the cost recovery settlement should they 

reach agreement with EPA on performing the future work. Negotiations on that 

agreement are currently under way. EPA estimates that future work may cost as much as 

$10 million. A 25 percent orphan share credit calculated on that amount would offset the 

final payment owed under the cost recovery settlement. 

For additional information, contact Sarah Flanagan, EPA Region 2, (212) 637-3136. 

Company Will Pay Penalty and Complete a SEP 

for RCRA Violations 

AMSTED Industries, Inc. has agreed to pay EPA $25,857 to resolve violations of the 

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The violations, identified in a June 

2003 complaint, were observed at the company’s Griffin Pipe Products plant in 

Lynchburg, Virginia and include operating without a hazardous waste storage permit and 

failing to close or properly label hazardous waste containers. 

In addition to paying a penalty, AMSTED has agreed to complete a supplemental 

environmental project (SEP) worth over $200,000. The SEP involves installing a new 

pollution control system at the Griffin Pipe Products plant. The in-duct treatment dust 

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injection system will take hazardous baghouse dust produced by the company’s melting 

and metal treatment processes and render it non-hazardous waste. 

For additional information, contact Bonnie Smith, EPA Region 3, (215) 814-5543. 

Tidbits 

OSWER Training Forum Provides Training 

Opportunities 

By Karen “Tomi” Tomimatsu, Office of Solid Waste 

The Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER) Training Forum is 

comprised of training coordinators who represent the following groups: EPA 

Headquarters, EPA’s Environmental Response Team (ERT), Superfund Regional 

Training Coordinators, RCRA Regional Training Coordinators, the Interstate Technology 

Regulatory Council (ITRC), and the Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste 

Management Officials (ASTSWMO). 

The Forum was created in 1986 to respond to the training needs of EPA and state 

personnel involved in solid and hazardous waste cleanup and emergency response. The 

members of the Forum coordinate their efforts to provide training to EPA, federal, state, 

and tribal personnel responsible for regulatory and enforcement activities. 

The training coordinators and regional representatives assist with planning and logistics 

for training, course selection, development, assessment, promotion and tracking. They 

help spread the word about upcoming training and search for specialized training for 

particular groups of individual staff members. These coordinators are also involved in 

selecting vendors and managing training budgets. 

During regularly scheduled teleconference calls and meetings the training forum 

members: share information about regional activities, address concerns such as 

duplication of training, learn about new innovations in the training field, and consider 

other training needs and issues. 

The Forum can help to ensure that high-quality, effective technical training is available in 

the Regions at a low, or even no cost, through the CERCLA Education Center (CEC) and 

the Environmental Response Training Program (ERTP). Training options and 

opportunities can be publicized and training coordinators can look for ways to address 

concerns about training on a national basis. 

The Forum established a training exchange home page at: http://www.trainex.org. This 

webpage provides a wealth of information regarding what type of training courses are 

available and training modules that are already developed and ready for use on-line. You 

can also register for EPA training courses on-line, browse the course descriptions, locate 

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training being offered, and participate in on-line courses. There are also links to other 

EPA and non-EPA web sites with training information. 

The Forum is supported by the Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology 

Innovation (OSRTI). The members help to present CERCLA Education Center courses 

throughout the Regions, to conduct needs assessments, revise course materials, 

administer training and monitor training attendance. 

For a list of Regional representatives who can assist with training needs or for additional 

information, contact Karen “Tomi” Tomimatsu, OSW, (703) 605-0698. 

National Corrective Action Conference - May 3-

4, 2005 - Denver, CO 

The next National Corrective Action Conference is scheduled to take place in Denver, 

CO, May 3-4, 2005. The theme of this year’s conference is: “Implementing the 2020 

Corrective Action Initiative.” Please make your travel arrangements to attend. The 

conference web site is up and running and ready to take your registration, which is 

FREE! The web address is: http://www.nationalcaconf.com. The conference will cover 

such topics as: meeting national program goals, major policy issues and guidance 

documents, and implementation of the 2020 Corrective Action Initiative. The conference 

will also provide an open forum for EPA, Regional, State and Community Leaders, as 

well as Industry representatives and environmental consulting professionals to have a 

frank discussion on corrective action issues. 

The Hyatt Regency Hotel, located at 1750 Welton Street, Denver, CO will be the host for 

the 2005 Conference. Information regarding the hotel and reservations can be found at 

the web site. 

If you have any questions regarding this conference, please contact William Rothenmeyer 

at (303) 312-6045 or Karen Tomimatsu at (703) 605-0698. 

Calendar 

March 30-31, 2005 

Long-Term (Groundwater) Monitoring Optimization Seminar 

http://www.trainex.org/offeringslist.cfm?courseid=379&all=yes 

Sacramento, CA 

May 3-4, 2005 

National Corrective Action Conference 

http://www.nationalcaconf.com/home.html 

Denver, CO 

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July 12-15, 2005 

2005 Community Involvement Conference and Training 

http://www.epancic.org/2005/overview.cfm 

Buffalo, NY 

Glossary 

ASTSWMO Association of State and Territorial Solid Waste Management Officials 

CD Consent decree 

CEC CERCLA Education Center 

CERCLA Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability 

Act 

EPA Environmental Protection Agency 

ERT Environmental Response Team 

ERTP Environmental Response Training Program 

HHS Department of Health and Human Services 

ITRC Interstate Technology Regulatory Council 

NCP National Contingency Plan 

OPP Office of Pesticide Programs 

OPPTS Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances 

OSRE Office of Site Remediation Enforcement 

OSRTI Office of Superfund Remediation Technology Innovation 

OSW Office of Solid Waste 

OSWER Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response 

PCB Polychlorinated biphenyls 

RA Remedial Action 

RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 

RD Remedial Design 

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SBA Superfund Benefits Analysis 

SEP Supplemental Environmental Project 

TSCA Toxic Substances Control Act 

Subscription Information 

Richard W. Popino, PhD REM, editor-in-chief 

EPA Review Board: Diane Bartosh, Paul Connor, Sandra Connors, Karen Ellenberger, 

Elliott Gilberg, Jeff Heimerman, Kenneth Patterson, Neilima Senjalia, Suzanne Wells 

Christine Rueter, Jami Weisbender, Don Allen, DPRA, Inc., writers 

Mary Spencer, DPRA, Inc., designer 

To comment on the newsletter, contact Richard W. Popino, PhD REM, at MC-2271A, 

US EPA, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20460, 

email:popino.rick@epa.gov. 

CleanupNews is a publication of EPA’s Office of Site Remediation Enforcement, in 

cooperation with the Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation, 

Office of Underground Storage Tanks, and Office of Emergency Prevention, 

Preparedness and Response. Past issues of CleanupNews can be found at 

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/newsletters/cleanup/cleanupnews.html 

To be added to or deleted from the hardcopy list, contact Christine Rueter 

at christine.rueter@dpra.com. 

To receive CleanupNews by email, join the listserv at 

http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/listserv/cleanup.html. 

We have developed an electronic supplement to the CleanupNews print edition called 

CleanupNews II. The print issue will still be available four times a year, and the 

newsletter will be delivered electronically nine times a year (four issues consisting of the 

print edition text and five issues consisting of supplemental news). 

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