FMC has filed a suit against the DEC in Albany court and against the EPA in Buffalo Federal court.
FMC filed a notice of dispute regarding the remediation remedy selected and the method it was selected by the DEC requesting EPA consideration and possible reversal. The EPA has declined, stating the consent decree does not allow them to reconsider the selected remedy. FMC disagrees with this position and has filed a petition with the Federal court on Buffalo requesting a judge to examine the consent decree and make a decision whether the EPA can or cannot reconsider the remedy.
Also, FMC filed a suit in Albany court to stop the DEC from imposing their remedy on the community when there are other alternatives that are effective. The DEC remedy would remove any soil with arsenic levels above the established background of 20 PPM. FMC has said they are ready to begin now removing enough soil from each property to bring the average down for that property to 20 PPM. The difference in the amount of soil to remove and time to execute the cleanup between the two alternatives is considerable. The EPA allows for averaging in some regulations. The DEC has not agreed.
The DEC has said in the past they would work with each property owner on an individual basis to allow flexibility in order to save a tree or some other item the owner wanted to save. However in their specifications for the cleanup, the definition of flexibility is so restrictive that very little could be saved if the owner wanted to receive a "No Further Action Needed" classification.
Read the articles published in the Buffalo News [4] or the Lockport US&J [5].
