Document Qka23M8gYp1eXrvLp1QMb1amv

Monsanto FROM (name-location-phone) K. S. Cahill G4WD (4) 7518 DEC o 5 1991 OATE: 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. DSW 134385 STLCOPCB4034343 12/04/91 10:50 0000000000000 News Roland W. Burris ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL @002/003 FOR IMMEDIATE pgr.HAKK Further Information: . Jim Leach or Ernie Slottag (217) 782-1973 BORRIS NEGOTIATES SETTLEMENT TO END NINE-YEAR-OLD MONSANTO lawsuit; major breakthrough in dead creek project area sPBTHBPmn, 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 ham 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 OSW 1 3 4 3 8 6 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 fron <* il. _ iewe -- 4m Irtinun aa SflUGfit. Sind thflt STLCOPCB4034344 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. I 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. ### STLCOPCB4034345 DSW 1 3 4 3 8 7 NEWS FOR RELEASE IMMEDIATELY 1991 Monsanto Andi Smith (618) 482-6322 MONSANTO CHEMICAL COMPANY PUBLIC AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT Monsanto Company 800 N. Lindbergh Boulevard St. Louis, Missouri 63167 MONSANTO TO ASSESS CONDITIONS AT FORMER LANDFILL SAUGET, ILL., Dec. 4 -- Monsanto Company has agreed to study conditions at the former Krummrich landfill in Sauget and to evaluate alternatives for corrective action. The study is the result of a consent agreement negotiated by Monsanto, the Illinois Attorney General's Office, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency. "This process will determine what action is required to ensure the long-term protection of public health and the environment," said William J. Boyle Jr., plant manager. "Monsanto is committed to carrying out the work carefully and correctly." The landfill does not pose any immediate health or environmental problems, but Monsanto will respond fully and willingly to the state's concerns, Boyle said. Public comment will be sought and considered carefully during the process. There will be a public comment period before the consent decree is finalized. Once the consent agreement is entered in St. Clair County Circuit Court, Monsanto will hold a public meeting to explain the investigation, to answer questions and to hear the concerns of area residents. DSW 1 3 4 3 8 8 STLCOPCB4034346 Illinois Attorney General Roland W. Burris commended Monsanto for the agreement, which resolved litigation over the site that had been pending since 1982. An environmental engineering firm will investigate conditions at the site and recommend alternatives for remedial action. The firm was hired by Monsanto, subject to the approval of the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency (IEPA). The study is expected to take approximately a year and a half. The findings will be presented at a second public meeting. The IEPA will closely monitor the study and will select the corrective action it believes is appropriate. If Monsanto agrees, Monsanto will carry out the corrective action, again with IEPA oversight. The 36-acre landfill was used from 1959 to 1977 to dispose of waste from the Krummrich plant and from other Monsanto facilities in the St. Louis area. The landfill was capped with clay, in accordance with state law for closing landfills at that time, covered with soil and seeded. It is completed fenced. 'The landfill does not represent current Monsanto waste-disposal practices," Boyle said. "It was built more than 30 years ago, in compliance with existing state law of that era, but landfill designs were not as sophisticated then and the state of environmental knowledge was not as advanced." Sauget 120491 --oOo-- DSW 134389 STLCOPCB4034347