Contacts
Georgia Parham, USFWS, 812-334-4261, ext. 203
MARQUETTE PARK, Ind. – Indiana Governor Joe Kernan, Assistant
Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett and Deputy Assistant Attorney General
John Cruden announced today that eight companies have agreed to pay nearly
$60 million to restore natural resources in the Grand Calumet River and Indiana
Harbor Canal.
Kernan, Scarlett and other officials announced details of the
agreement today at Marquette Park in Lake County along the Calumet River
corridor, one of the most heavily industrialized areas of the country. In
addition to the payments that will be made to fund restoration projects in
the waterway, the companies have agreed to set aside for habitat protection
233 acres of land that contains important fish and wildlife habitat.
“This is a great day for the Grand Calumet River because
it’s the first step in restoring globally rare habitat and bringing
wildlife back to this area,” said Kernan. “It’s also a
great day for Hoosiers because those responsible for polluting are stepping
up to finance that clean-up. The work that will result from this settlement
will fit perfectly into the other important work going on along the Marquette
Greenway – and ultimately it will result in a better quality of life
for Hoosiers in Northwest Indiana.”
“This settlement is an example of unprecedented cooperation
with companies to achieve restoration results,” said Scarlett, Interior’s
assistant secretary for Policy, Management and Budget. “The agreement
is the result of a significant partnership effort to restore natural resources
and enhance an urban environment.. We look forward to working with the private
firms that are party to this agreement as full partners in the continued
stewardship of this valuable river resource.”
Led by the Indiana Department of Environmental Management (IDEM)
and the U.S. Department of Interior through its Fish and Wildlife Service
(USFWS), a team of seven federal and state agencies has been working since
1996 to determine the extent of natural resource damages from a century of
industrial releases of oil and other hazardous substances into the waterway.
Studies showed that the releases contaminated the river’s water and
streambed, affecting migratory birds, fish, invertebrates and aquatic insects.
The settlement with the Indiana and U.S. governments, lodged by the U.S.
Department of Justice, calls for:
- Cash payment of $53,653,000;
- Permanent protection of 233 acres; and
- $2.7 million to repay IDEM and USFWS for their damage assessment work.
Settlement funds will be used to clean up, restore and protect the waterways
and surrounding area, which includes globally rare dune and swale habitat.
Kernan, Scarlett and other officials complimented the legal
teams from federal and state agencies who worked through highly complex federal
and state laws and negotiated for years.
“This settlement will bring substantial benefits to communities
along the Grand Calumet River and help restore areas contaminated over a
century of industrial activity. Today's action demonstrates the hard work
of both the federal and state governments to correct the environmental problems
associated with the river and the willingness of those responsible to settle
this matter using their resources for restoration rather than litigation," said
Deputy Attorney General John C. Cruden of the U.S. Department of Justice.
The settling companies are Atlantic Richfield Co. (and ARCO
Environmental Remediation, L.L.C.); BP Products North America Inc.; E.I.
Du Pont De Nemours and Co.; Exxon Mobil Corp.; GATX Corp.; Georgia-Pacific
Corp.; ISPAT-Inland Inc.; and United States Steel Corp.. LTV Steel Co. was
also a part of those discussions before declaring bankruptcy, and a substantial
portion of the company’s cost share was paid through the bankruptcy.
The governmental agencies involved are U.S. Department of the
Interior through USFWS, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Department
of Homeland Security through the U.S. Coast Guard; U.S. Department of Commerce
through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; IDEM; Indiana
Department of Natural Resources; U.S. Department of Justice; and Indiana’s
Attorney General’s office.
For details on the settlement and additional information, visit http://midwest.fws.gov/GrandCalumetRiver/ or
call:
Gov. Kernan’s office – Lisa Sirkin, 317-232-4578
or lsirkin@gov.IN.gov
USFWS -- Georgia Parham/Charles Traxler, 812-334-4261 or georgia_parham@fws.gov
IDEM – Cheryl Reed, 317-233-5965 or creed@dem.state.in.us
DNR – Stephen Sellers, 317-232-4003 or ssellers@dnr.state.in.us
Indiana Attorney General, 317-232-6351 or sschneider@atg.state.in.us
U.S. EPA – Phillippa Cannon, 312-353-6218 or cannon.phillippa@epa.gov
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal federal
agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife
and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American
people. The Service manages the 95-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge
System, which encompasses 544 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small
wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 69 national
fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resources offices and 81 ecological services
field stations. The agency enforces federal wildlife laws, administers the
Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally
significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands,
and helps foreign and Native American tribal governments with their conservation
efforts. It also oversees the Federal Assistance program, which distributes
hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment
to state fish and wildlife agencies.
-FWS-
| 
