On April 30, 2019, the U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Virginia, Norfolk Division, entered a Consent Decree (CD) under CERCLA relating to the Atlantic Wood Industries Inc. Superfund Site (Site), Portsmouth, Virginia. Settling Parties are EPA, Virginia, and Federal and Virginia Natural Resource Trustees (collectively, Settling Plaintiffs); the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Department of the Navy (Settling Federal Agencies); and Atlantic Wood Industries, Inc./Atlantic Metrocast, Inc. (Settling Defendant).
Pursuant to the CD, Settling Federal Agencies will pay $55.3 million to EPA and $8.5 million to Virginia for Site response costs, pay $94,659 for natural resource damages, and fund a $1.5 million oyster restoration project to be implemented by Virginia in the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River. Settling Defendant will pay to EPA and Virginia of a total of $250,000 plus interest for response costs and to perform operations and maintenance activities relating to remedy components on its property.
The Site, located at and adjacent to the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River and immediately north of the Norfolk Naval Shipyard�s Southgate Annex, was the former location of a wood treating facility and includes approximately 50 acres of land and 35 acres of River sediments. Since 2010, EPA has been performing a Fund-lead cleanup at the Site to remediate hazardous substances, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons from creosote, pentachlor