Feds Settle Lawsuit For Mercury Release In Rye Brook

RYE BROOK, NY — The federal government settled a lawsuit with companies that released mercury in the village of Rye Brook. Audrey Strauss, the acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced Thursday that the U.S. filed a civil lawsuit against Cytec Industries Inc. and Keyspan Gas East Corporation, doing business as National Grid, and simultaneously filed a consent decree settling the lawsuit.

The government said the companies arranged for the disposal or treatment of mercury by Port Refinery Inc., a refining business in the village of Rye Brook which led to releases of mercury into the environment.

Officials said the lawsuit's aim was to have the Environmental Protection collect the costs that it incurred since April 2004 in connection with its cleanup of mercury at the Port Refinery Superfund Site in Rye Brook.

The consent decree, which provides for a combined payment of $142,653 by the defendants, has been lodged with the district court for a period of at least 30 days, after which it will be submitted for the court's approval.

Cytec will be required to pay $93,076 and National Grid will pay $49,577.

Strauss said her office will continue to hold responsible parties accountable for their share of the costs at the site.

"Both Cytec and National Grid contributed to contamination in a residential community by arranging for the treatment or disposal of toxic mercury, and now they are each paying a share of the costs they have imposed on the community."

The lawsuit said the defendants arranged for the sale and transport of used or scrap mercury, or mercury-containing products, to Port Refinery, which then processed the materials.

The treatment and processing of the scrap mercury led to the extensive release of mercury, which is a hazardous substance. That required two separate clean-up actions by the EPA.

In connection with the second cleanup, which began in 2004, the EPA incurred costs at the site for a variety of investigative and removal activities, including excavating and disposing of more than 9,300 tons of mercury-contaminated soil from the site.

In the consent decree filed yesterday, the defendants admit and accept responsibility for the following:

• EPA has determined that from the 1970s through the early 1990s, Port Refinery engaged in, among other things, the business of mercury reclaiming, refining and processing.
• Port Refinery operated in the village of Rye Brook out of a two-story garage bordered by private residences on its south, east and west sides.
• EPA has determined that Port Refinery took virtually no environmental precautions or safety measures during its mercury refinement process.
• EPA has determined that Port Refinery released a significant amount of mercury into the environment, contaminating the Site.
• EPA has determined that mercury from the defendants’ mercury-containing products was co-mingled at the Site and contributed to the mercury released into the environment.
• Defendants delivered materials containing scrap mercury to Port Refinery during its period of operations.

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