Company Agrees to Settle Dioxin Cleanup Claim
The Charter Co. said Friday it had agreed to pay the federal government $5 million to settle an $80 million claim for cleanup costs at dioxin-contaminated Times Beach, Mo.
Stephen D. Busey, Charter attorney, said that the company negotiated the agreement to expedite the firm’s reorganization under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy code.
In the settlement, the company did not admit any responsibility for the contamination.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency had alleged that a Charter subsidiary, Independent Petrochemical Corp. in St. Louis, was partly responsible for the contamination.
Charter, primarily an oil-marketing company, contends that it was not responsible for the actions of its subsidiary.
Charter still must settle claims filed by the state of Missouri and some 1,500 individuals seeking more than $10 billion.
U.S. District Judge John H. Moore II must review arguments and decide if a hearing should be held to determine Charter’s liability, if any, and what damages might be paid to claimants.
Charter and more than 40 of its subsidiaries filed for reorganization in April, 1984.
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