"Environmental issues are a hurdle any buyer must clear if production is to resume at the mill," is the headline to this lengthy story today in the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel. The story reports that the City:
is going to bat to smooth a major obstacle facing potential buyers of Slater Steel's Fort Wayne operations -- environmental costs. Arlington Capital is negotiating with the state to cap its future environmental liabilities at $500,000, a proposal the city is backing. * * *The story reports that groundwater issues are the most serious environmental problems facing the company:Environmental issues are a big hurdle any buyer must clear if production is to resume at the stainless steel mill at 2400 W. Taylor St. Arlington's purchase agreement with Slater, filed as part of the bankruptcy case, refers to efforts to reach an agreement between Arlington and the Indiana Department of Environmental Management which would set a $500,000 cap on any future liabilities. If a settlement is reached, that would become part of the sale documentation, according to the court records.
IDEM has sent a letter to Arlington's lawyers saying the agency is interested in working with the potential buyers in setting that sort of cap, said Amy Hartsock, spokeswoman for the state environmental agency. No agreement has been reached yet, she said last week.
The city has let IDEM know resolving environmental questions are crucial to give new owners a chance, said Ron Fletcher, Fort Wayne Redevelopment director. In return, those new owners would commit to an environmentally responsible operation. "Arlington would work with (IDEM) in cleaning up and not causing any more problems," Fletcher said. The city views this as an economic development issue.
Slater has had under way a $1.9 million project to prevent the future release of hazardous materials at the site, following a 1996 study finding contaminants which affected groundwater. The company had spent $1.36 of that total by last March, court documents say.The story does not discuss whether the "cap" would mean that no future cleanup would be required beyond that amount, or that future costs beyond that amount would paid by the taxpayers, rather than by the company. Posted by Marcia Oddi at February 2, 2004 05:24 PMMore liabilities might lie ahead, according to the court records. From the 1950s through the early 1980s, slag from the mill was hauled to a local salvage yard. Although IDEM has not required that yard to undertake remediation, that could still lie ahead. Slater estimates its liability would not exceed $500,000
Transformers containing PCBs are being used at the plant. Building materials using asbestos are found in a variety of places including floor tile, roofing, siding and pipe insulation. Neither has to be removed now, but do present future possible liabilities, the court documents say.