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$8.5 Million Settlement Reached to Clean up Landia Superfund Site

Release Date: 09/02/2009
Contact Information: Davina Marraccini, (404) 562-8293, [email protected]; Laura Niles, (404) 562-8353, [email protected]

(Atlanta, Ga. – Sept. 2, 2009) Five companies and two individuals have agreed to clean up contamination at the Landia Chemical Company Superfund site located in Lakeland, Fla., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced today.

Under the settlement approved by the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, the companies have agreed to fund and complete an $8.5 million cleanup at the 5-acre site. The settling parties have agreed to design and implement the selected cleanup remedy and reimburse the United States for a share of future oversight costs. The selected remedy includes both the final action to address potential human exposure to contaminants in the soil at the site and an interim action to treat the most contaminated groundwater.

“EPA is committed to ensuring that parties responsible for contamination pay to address it," said Stan Meiburg, EPA Acting Regional Administrator in Atlanta. “As a result of this settlement, the Landia Superfund Site will be cleaned up and local residents will benefit from the improved environmental quality and reduced health risks.”

Under the Superfund law, parties responsible for contamination of a Superfund site must clean up the site, or reimburse EPA or other parties for cleanup costs. In May 2000, EPA added the Landia Site to EPA’s National Priority List of sites where hazardous contaminants could impact public health or the environment.

According to EPA, pesticide manufacturing, blending and formulating operations were conducted on the Landia property from 1940 until 1987 by Landia Chemical Company, Agrico Chemical Company and the now-defunct Standard Spray and Chemical Company. Further, Standard Spray and Chemical Company formerly stockpiled sulfur directly on the adjacent Florida Favorite Fertilizer property. These operations resulted in the release of various pesticides, metals, semi-volatile organic compounds and volatile organic compounds into the environment.

According to the settlement announced today, the site cleanup activities will be led by the settling parties with oversight by EPA. The settling parties include Landia Chemical Company, Agrico Chemical Company, BASF Sparks LLC, PCS Joint Venture, Ltd., Sylvite Terminal & Distribution LLC, Billy G. Mitchell, and Walter G. Grahn.

Additional information about the Landia Chemical Company Superfund Site is available at https://www.epa.gov/region4/waste/npl/nplfls/landiafl.htm