Document 0gGMZQjq9KLp0QRzQaDLkvRoO

Monsanto FROM (name-location-phone) K. S. Cahill G4WD (4) 7518 DATE: SUBJ: REF: TO: December 4, 1991 cc: Illinois Attorney General Krummrich Landfill Announcement KSC to Distribution 12/2/91 W. J. Boyle - 1740 D. G. Bartolanzo - A2SP R. G. Dahlen - G4EM G. F. Fort - G4WT L. J. O'Neill - G4WA C. F. Navarrete - G5NA M. W. McCombs - G4WT M. A. Pierle - A3NA R. G. Potter - G4NH D. L. Sliney - G4NJ M. W. Winkel - G5NA L.W. Wassell The Illinois Attorney General's Office issued a press release this morning announcing that a consent agreement had been reached with Monsanto to undertake a study of the former Krummrich landfill. We expected the announcement, and had prepared responsive materials. We have received media inquires from KSDK-Channel 5; KTVI-Channel 2; UPI; AP; and the Belleville News-Democrat. We anticipate coverage from both electronic and print media. As planned, we issued a Monsanto release to clarify our position on the agreement. The Monsanto release was forwarded to all key media in the St. Louis area, the wire services, and has been posted in St. Louis area facilities. Krummrich plant manager, Bill Boyle, conducted interviews with KSDK and KTVI this afternoon. KTVI reporter Bruce Gordon, referenced a conversation with the Attorney General's Collinsville Office and questioned Boyle on an allegation that the landfill was out of compliance from 1970 through 1977 when the landfill was closed. Boyle refuted the allegation, and indicated that the landfill complied with all state and federal laws in effect at the time. The 'out of compliance' issue was never a part of the suit, or negotiations leading to the settlement. The general tone of each inquiry has been neutral, seeking information on the history of the landfill and Monsanto's position on the consent agreement. DSH 134355 STLCOPCB4034313 12/04/91 10:50 0000000000000 Roland W. Burris ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL @002/003 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Further Information: Jim Leach or Ernie Slottag (217) 782-1973 BURRIS NEGOTIATES SETTLEMENT TO END NINE--YEAR--OLD MONSANTO LAWSUIT! MAJOR BREAKTHROUGH IN DEAD CREEK PROJECT AREA SPRINGFIELD, December 4, 1991 -- Illinois Attorney General Roland W. Burris has reached an agreement to end a nine-year-old lawsuit against the Monsanto Company, clearing the way for cleanup to begin at a heavily-contaminated former landfill along the Mississippi River in St. Clair County. The Monsanto case is one of the largest in a series of actions undertaken by the Attorney General's Office to clean up the area around Sauget, one of the most polluted sites in Illinois. The effort is referred to as the Dead Creek Project. "This settlement represents the first step in what is likely to be a multi-million-dollar cleanup effort by Monsanto." Burris said. "It is a necessary first step if we are to finally remove the hazards posed by past decades of waste handling practices, if we are to finally begin reclaiming the area for future generations." The settlement, filed with the St. Clair County Circuit Court, calls for Monsanto to undertake several major studies, examining both the harm caused to the environment from hazardous wastes dumped on the site since the late 1950s and the ways to prevent future harm from the presence of such wastes. Those studies will eventually lead to a plan for the remediation of hazards on the Monsanto site; such a plan will have to meet the approval of the Attorney General's office and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA. The Attorney General's Office filed suit against Monsanto in June of 1982, alleging numerous violations of the Illinois Environmental Protection Act. The state alleged that hazardous wastes had been dumped by Monsanto from DStt 1 3 4 3 5 6 STLCOPCB4034314 12/04/91 10:51 0000000000000 @003/003 wastes had. been dumped by Monsanto from 1958 to 1977 on the company's property in the town now known as Sauget, and that contaminants from those wastes had been allowed to seep into the groundwater and directly into the Mississippi River. The suit was the first in a series of actions undertaken by the state in what is now referred to as the "Dead Creek Project." The area had been home to vast amounts of industry since the turn of the century, and for decades companies routinely dumped their waste by-products into Dead Creek or buried them in makeshift pits or landfills around the Sauget area. Although the Monsanto case was the first to be filed, it is the second to be settled. Cerro Copper Products Company of Sauget entered into an agreement with the state in July 1990 to clean up its section of Dead Creek; that $12 million project is virtually completed. "Each settlement moves us closer to our goal of restoring the environmental balance in the area, and for that Cerro Copper and now Monsanto are to be commended," Burris said. "But there is much more to be done. There are many other companies in the area that must face up to their responsibilities as these two companies have done. X would hope that they will do so quickly, so that our cleanup efforts can move quickly forward." Burris said it is not yet possible to estimate how much the cleanup will ultimately cost Monsanto, although he did say it is likely to be in the millions of dollars. In addition to the studies and the actual cleanup, the company will also pay a total of $150,000 to the state ($143,000 to the Hazardous Waste Fund and $7,000 to the Environmental Protection Fund) to cover response and oversight costs already incurred by the state. The company will also be responsible for future response and oversight costs incurred by the state during the implementation of the consent order* ### OSW 134357 STLCOPCB4034315 BROADCAST INFORMATION SERVICES, INC. NEW YORK PHILADELPHIA ST. LOUIS DENVER 7838 Big Bend Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63119 (314)961-4113 CLIENT: Monsanto Company PROGRAM: KMOX Radio News DATE: 12/4/91 STATION: KMOX Radio TIME: 5 : 05 P.M. city: St . Louis CHARLIE BROWN: "The state of Illinois and Monsanto have reached an agreement that requires the company to study ways to clean up a former landfill in Sauget along the Mississippi River. The settlement ends a 1982 state lawsuit accusing Monsanto of dumping chemicals for almost 20 years in what's known as Dead Man's Creek and letting the waste contaminate water supplies. "Ernie (Slowtag)j with the Illinois Attorney General's office, says the final cost of the cleanup will depend on what the studies recommend." ERNIE SLOWTAG: "If you talk removal that could get very expensive. If you talk just capping it or containing it carefully that may be not as expensive but either way handling these kinds of chemicals in ways that are designed to prevent leaching or prevent them from contaminating any other areas are not inexpensive." BROWN: "A similar agreement last year with Cerro Copper resulted in that company spending $12 million to clean up their part of the landfill site. "Monsanto officials say they'll hold a public hearing to explain the settlement to nearby residents." DSW 134358 Material supplied by BIS, Inc. may be used for file and reference purposes only. It may not be reproduced, sold or publicly demonstrated or exhibited. The above transcript has been edited for readability eliminating verbal hesitations. Unintelligible phrases are enclosed in parentheses. Proper names are spelled phonetically. 1985, BIS, Inc. STLCOPCB4034316