'The Town Of Oyster Bay (the Town ), a municipality, is planning to acquire, by eminent domain, a 15-acre portion (the Property ) of the Liberty Industrial Finishing Superfund Site, Nassau County, New York (the Site ) in order to expand an adjacent public park. Prior to completing its acquisition of the Property, the Town is entering into a Prospective Purchaser Agreement ( PPA ) with EPA.
Under the PPA, the U.S. would covenant not to sue or take administrative action against the Town under Section 106 or 107(a) of CERCLA if the Town becomes the owner of the Property and the U.S. would release an existing Superfund lien that had been perfected against the Property under CERCLA Section 107(1) and agree to forbear from perfecting a Superfund windfall lien under CERCLA Section 107(r)(2). In consideration, the Town would pay to EPA an amount of money equal to the appraised fair market value of the Property, for its highest and best use, as clean, reduced by amounts that the Town is required to pay to the present owners of the Property for the taking by eminent domain, but in no event less than $500,000. The consideration paid by the Town to EPA will be deposited into a Site specific special account and will be made available for use in remediation of the Site.
The Site includes a 30-acre facility surrounded by suburban areas that are primarily residential. During the second World War and, to a lesser extent during the Korean War, industrial operations at the Site incl