Case Summary: Omo Manufacturing Current and Former Owners Agree to $2.8 Million Payment and Access Grants for Fund Lead Cleanup
On August 20, 2012, an Administrative Order on Consent (AOC) settlement agreement under sections 122(h)(1) and 104(e)(6) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, commonly referred to as Superfund) became effective between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), the City of Middletown and RLO Properties. The settlement agreement addresses both EPA’s past costs as well as future estimated costs associated with the cleanup of the Omo Manufacturing Superfund Site, located in Middletown, Conn.
On this page:
- Information about the Settling Parties
- Information about the Omo Manufacturing Superfund Site
- Overview of the Administrative Order
- Comment Period
- Contact Information
Information about the Settling Parties
RLO Properties is a domestic, for profit corporation located in Connecticut.
The City of Middletown Exit is located in Middlesex County, Conn. and has a population of approximately 48,000.
Information about the Omo Manufacturing Superfund Site
The OMO Manufacturing Superfund Site is a 10.2-acre site originally home to the Omo Manufacturing Co., a rubber and artificial leather factory built in the late 1800s. Before the 1930s, the western part of the site was a wetland. In the early 1930s to about 1955, the wetlands were used by the city of Middletown as a municipal landfill. According to the property owner, the landfill accepted industrial wastes, including waste oils, paints, and refuse from rubber manufacturing. In 1955, during the construction of Route 9, the state changed the topography of the property, modifying the course of Sumner Brook and introducing a drainage ditch, both west of the property. The site had various owners after the landfill moved. The current owner rents space to various tenants.
In April 2009, the site was referred to EPA by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection. The cleanup plan calls for decontamination of heavy equipment, vehicles and other materials before they are taken off site; disposing of materials that cannot be decontaminated, as well as water and soil surveys and sampling as needed. The cleanup should also include evaluation of methods, such as capping, removing or otherwise stabilizing contaminated soils; erosion control and security measures, if necessary; air, water and soil monitoring, and site restoration. Additional information is available from the On-scene coordinator website for the Omo Manufacturing Superfund Site.
Overview of the Administrative Order
The AOC resolves the parties Superfund liability and requires that the City of Middletown, a former owner and operator, to make a cash payment of $2.8 million to EPA, as well as requires that RLO Properties, the current owner, provide EPA with access to the site at all reasonable times for the purpose of conducting cleanup activities. Both parties are settling in consideration of their limited ability to pay past and anticipated future response costs associated with the site.
Comment Period
The AOC was available for public comment from July 18, 2012 to August 17, 2012. Notice of the document was printed in the July 18, 2012 Federal Register.
For more information contact:
Barbara Gutierrez
Attorney-Advisor
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW
MC-2272A
Washington, DC 20460
202-564-4292
gutierrez.barbara@epa.gov
Cynthia A. Lewis
Senior Enforcement Counsel
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 1
5 Post Office Square
Boston, MA 02109-3912
617-918-1889
lewis.cindy@epa.gov