EPA Reaches Settlement with Dixie-Narco, Maytag, and Rheem Companies Agree to Settlement worth $5.4 Million to Clean Up Admiral Home Appliances Superfund Alternative Site in Williston, Barnwell County, South Carolina

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) today announced that a consent decree was lodged in the U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina on July 16, 2007, providing for the cleanup of contaminated soils, sediments, and groundwater at the Admiral Home Appliances Superfund Alternative Site in Williston, Barnwell County, South Carolina.

Under the terms of the Consent Decree, Dixie-Narco, Inc., Maytag Corporation, and Rheem Manufacturing Company are agreeing to conduct and fund the cleanup selected in EPA’s Record of Decision, issued on September 28, 2006, and to pay all of EPA’s interim and future costs with respect to the Site. The remedy, which is estimated to cost more than $5.4 million, will result in the excavation and off-site disposal of over 3,500 cubic yards of contaminated soils and sediments from a former lagoon and wetland discharge area, wetland and stream bank restoration, and cleanup of contaminated groundwater.

“This settlement shows that effective results can be achieved when parties choose to focus their efforts on cooperation, protecting the public, and cleaning up the environment,” said Jimmy Palmer, EPA Regional Administrator. “I am pleased the parties have agreed to remedy the problem in a proactive manner.”

The Admiral Home Appliances Site is located on County Road 65 in Williston, South Carolina, in a rural area of Barnwell County. The Site is composed of two areas divided by County Road 65. The first area is west of County Road 65 and is an active soft drink vending machine manufacturing facility currently owned and operated by Dixie-Narco. The second area is east of County Road 65 and was the site of the former Imhoff Septic System. Operations at the Site began in 1966 when Chill Chest, Inc. began operating a freezer manufacturing plant at the Site. Industrial wastewater discharges were sent to the Imhoff System from 1966 through 1982.

Prior operations, including operation of the Imhoff System, have caused the Site to become contaminated with benzene, carbon tetrachloride, dichloromethane, 1,1-dichloroethene, tetrachloroethene, trichloroethylene, mercury, and nickel in groundwater; chromium, nickel, and zinc in hydric soils and sediments; chromium, copper, nickel, and zinc in surface water; and Bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, chromium, iron, nickel, and zinc in the equalization lagoon.

The proposed consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court review and approval. A copy of the consent decree can be obtained on the Justice Department Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html and at EPA’s regional office in Atlanta.