HOUSTON, Jan. 7, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- The Port of Houston Authority (PHA) announced today that it has resolved its five-year dispute related to the GB Biosciences pesticides plant located on Greens Bayou. The participants in the settlement include all of the plant's current and former owners, GB Biosciences, ISK Magnetics and Occidental Chemical Company (as successor to Diamond Shamrock Chemicals Company), along with various parent companies and related corporate entities. Under the terms of the settlement agreement, the defendants have agreed to:
(1) undertake a thorough cleanup
program, valued in excess of
$45 million, to remediate the
soils, sediments and
groundwater in the vicinity
of the GB Biosciences Plant
(a process that is expected
to take five to seven years
to complete),
(2) reimburse PHA for its costs and
expenses in investigating and
litigating the matter,
(3) purchase and remediate over 100
acres of impacted property now
owned by PHA, and
(4) protect the port authority against
future losses associated with
the GB Plant.
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PHA received a total of $35 million in cash for attorneys' fees, cost of property sold, oversight of the remediation process for the next 30 years, and future protection for environmental issues. The settlement also included $20 million for indemnity against any future claims or expenses.
"The defendants' commitment to clean up the environment around the plant under the terms of the remediation plans negotiated by the port authority's consultants and counsel, and to implement the remediation plans in accordance with the requirements of Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and any other environmental agencies, is the linchpin of this agreement," said Jim Edmonds, PHA chairman.
Tom Kornegay, PHA's executive director, noted that "the DDT and other legacy contamination from this plant were adversely impacting the environment adjacent to the plant, the port authority's property and operations, and needed to be addressed."
"The port authority has been committed to resolving this matter because we genuinely felt that it was the right thing to do for the protection and preservation of the environment and the quality of life," said Kornegay.
The remediation plans include an extensive groundwater treatment program in two separate groundwater zones, the removal and treatment of large quantities of impacted soils, and the dredging of 500,000 cubic yards of impacted sediments from Greens Bayou.
"These remediation plans have been developed by preeminent experts in the field, through years of study and negotiation with the defendants. We feel very optimistic that these plans will effectively remediate the contamination and that they are protective of human health and the environment," said Laura Fiffick, PHA environmental affairs manager. The remediation plans are expected to be submitted later in January to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which will oversee GB Biosciences' investigation and cleanup operations.
Located on Haden Road near Greens Bayou, the GB Biosciences Plant has manufactured pesticides and other agricultural chemicals, including DDT and Lindane, since the early 1950's when the plant was owned by Diamond Shamrock (now Occidental Chemical). Diamond Shamrock divested its interest in the plant's ownership in 1985. The companies owning and operating the GB Plant were later transferred to global pesticides manufacturers Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Zeneca and Syngenta, all defendants in the case.
PHA's lawsuit, filed in February of 2001 in Judge Caroline Baker's 151st State District Court, sought recovery for damages associated with diminution in value of its property, the costs of investigating, delineating and removing contamination from PHA property, costs of remediating and restoring the property and affected waterways, the costs of protecting the public and the environment from migration and release of agricultural chemicals, attorney's fees and other related damages. PHA had also requested that the court order the defendants to conduct a comprehensive investigation, remediation, removal and disposal of contaminants associated with the pesticides plant.
"The settlement agreement announced today resolves all outstanding issues in the litigation. The Port of Houston Authority is very proud to have accomplished its goals to ensure the continued protection of the waterways and to protect the public's resources," said Chairman Edmonds.
As part of the settlement reached on December 19, 2003, the defendants also agreed to purchase approximately 100 acres of surplus property owned by PHA that had been impacted by the plant's operations and to reimburse PHA for all of its past costs associated with the plant's contamination, including all of its costs and fees incurred throughout the litigation. In addition, the defendants have agreed to provide protection to PHA in the event of future losses associated with the plant. With these additional protections, the total value of the entire settlement package to PHA could exceed $100 million.
Defendants named in PHA's lawsuit included GB Biosciences Corporation, GB Biosciences Holdings, Inc., Zeneca Inc., Syngenta AG, Syngenta Crop Protection, Inc., ISK Magnetics, Inc., ISK Americas Incorporated, Ishihara Sangyo Kaisha, Ltd., Occidental Chemical Company (as successor to Diamond Shamrock Chemicals Company) and Maxus Energy Corporation.
PHA was represented in the litigation by the law firm of Connelly, Baker, Wotring, Jackson LLP under the direction of PHA General Counsel Martha Williams. "The port authority's legal strategy emphasizing environmental value over financial gain was significant to the successful resolution of this matter," Williams said.
The Port of Houston Authority owns and operates the public facilities located along the Port of Houston, the 25-mile long complex of diversified public and private facilities designed for handling general cargo, containers, grain and other dry bulk materials, project and heavy lift cargo, and other types of cargo. Each year, more than 6,600 vessels call at the port, which ranks first in the U.S. in foreign waterborne tonnage, second in overall total tonnage, and sixth largest in the world. The Port Authority plays a vital role in ensuring navigational safety along the Houston Ship Channel, which has been instrumental in Houston's development as a center of international trade. The Barbours Cut Container Terminal and Central Maintenance Facility are the first of any U.S. port facilities to develop and implement an innovative Environmental Management System that meets the rigorous standards of ISO 14001. Additionally, the port is an approved delivery point for Coffee "C" futures contracts traded on the New York Board of Trade's Coffee, Sugar & Cocoa Exchange. For more information, please visit www.portofhouston.com
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