In Vermont, Belvidere Asbestos Mine Cleanup Proceeds

Former Owner Agrees to Help Fund Belvidere Cleanup

The Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Vermont announced last week that they had reached a settlement with G-I Holdings, Inc. of New Jersey in resolving the issue the company's operation of the largest asbestos mine in the United States. The mine site, known as the Vermont Asbestos Group Mine Site or VAG Site, covers over sixteen hundred acres in northern Vermont and is the site with the highest level of asbestos contamination among the twelve sites named in the settlement.

The complaint, filed in the firm's home state of New Jersey, cites that the VAG site contained two large piles of hazardous mine waste that included asbestos. The complaint also states that the contents of these piles eventually seeped into surface water supplies and affected life in the surrounding wetlands. Also, the complaint alleges that asbestos particles that could drift on the wind from these piles would adversely affect the many outdoor explorers drawn to the site.

The terms of the settlement state that G-I will take prompt measures at the VAG site to build barriers to restrict access to the site and employ surveillance methods to keep visitors away. The firm will also track airborne particle emissions from these piles and carry out any necessary dust suppression tasks, as well as support any air sampling and monitoring duties to be carried out by either the EPA or Vermont state environmental authorities.

The firm is required to carry out these tasks over the next eight years at a cost of over $7.5 million. In addition, G-I will also cover some of the costs of the cleanup by reimbursing the state and federal authorities for up to 8.6 percent of the total effort, which may rise up to $300 million. Although the company is now undergoing Chapter Eleven bankruptcy proceedings, they will also be called on to pay $850,000 for the damages incurred to the local surface water and wetlands.

John C. Cruden, Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department's Environment and Natural Resources Division, said about the agreement, "The cornerstone of this settlement is that G-I is responsible for completing extensive work at the Vermont Asbestos Group Mine Site, focusing on site security, air monitoring and investigating and sampling certain mine tailings. G-I will also pay for its share of cleanup costs for this Site and nine other contaminated sites around the country."

John Schmeltzer of the Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation said that the settlement is a vital step toward the eventual decontamination of one of the worst asbestos sites in the country. "This doesn't solve the problem of resources. But I think given that it was in bankruptcy, I think the settlement is a good thing because we were able to get some resources from a company that was going bankrupt."

Sources: Vermont Public Radio, US Dept of Justice, Vermont Geological Survey

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