EPA reaches settlement on Superfund site in Beavercreek

The Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with Sunoco (R&M) LLC, one of dozens of companies named as defendants in the Lammers Barrel Superfund Site in Beavercreek.

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The Pennsylvania-based gas and oil company must pay $85,253.85 to the EPA account set aside for remediation at the Lammers Barrel Superfund site, a 2.5-acre area near the northeast intersection of East Patterson and Grange Hall roads, according to the Federal Register -- the U.S. government's daily journal.

The Lammers Barrel site was a chemical recycling facility when it exploded and burned in 1969.

RELATED: Lammers Barrel Superfund cleanup plan in sight

If this settlement is approved in federal court, Sunoco will have paid nearly $160,000 toward the project. At least 38 companies have already been named as defendants in the case, U.S. vs. 3M Company et. al., which is being litigated in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio.

The EPA has already reached settlements with a number of companies since the Lammers Barrel site was put on the National Priorities List in 2002. The companies are named in the case because they allegedly stored toxic chemicals on the site. The settlements avoid further litigation, speeding up remediation efforts, and companies do not have to admit wrongdoing.

The total cost of the cleanup and remediation was estimated at $13 million, according to a previous Dayton Daily News report.

RELATED: Settlement amounts for Lammers factory site

In 1969, more than a half-million gallons of chemicals were stored at the Lammers Barrel site at the time of the fire. Residents reported the fire launched barrels into the air that landed up to a half-mile from the site, according to a government report.

The property, along with the nearby aquifer and residential wells, were found to be contaminated with toxins that leached into the soil and groundwater as a result of the fire.

Earlier this month, the EPA updated Beavercreek officials on the status of the Superfund site. In an email to City Engineer Jeff Moorman, Ohio EPA site coordinator Scott Glum said more soil sampling will be done this year on the property and surrounding areas to "better define the areas that require treatment" and to "determine an appropriate remedy for the off-property groundwater contamination."

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The public now has 30 days to review the settlement and provide feedback to the EPA. If the EPA receives objections, the federal environmental protection group may choose to reject the settlement and return to litigation.

You can request a copy of the proposed settlement by contacting Maria Gonzalez, Associate Regional Counsel, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Blvd., mail code: C–14J, Chicago, IL 60604. To provide feedback, comments should reference the Lammers Barrel Superfund Site, and EPA Docket No. V–W–17–C– 006 and should be addressed to Gonzalez at the above address.

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