Bill for toxic site cleanup near RDU keeps rising

Ward Transformer Co. opened a plant on 11 acres off Mount Herman Church Road in 1964. During the repair or reconditioning of electrical transformers, fluids contaminated with PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, which were used for insulation and cooling, were frequently spilled, causing widespread soil contamination that spread into nearby waterways, including Brier Creek, Crabtree Creek and Lake Crabtree, according to officials.

The site has been the subject of cleanup efforts for more than three decades, and it was added to the national Superfund list in 2003. The company ceased operations in 2006.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has reached a deal with Ward as part of RDU's purchase of the site for future airport expansion, U.S. Attorney Robert Higdon said in a statement. The money RDU was to pay to Ward for the land will now go to the government instead to reimburse for cleanup costs, and the company will no longer be bound by liens on the property and will be protected from third-party lawsuits going forward, Higdon said.

"Ward Transformer’s environmental violations many years ago were egregious, and their impact has been significant and long-lasting – to both the environment and the American taxpayer,” he said in a statement. "This recovery represents an important victory for the American taxpayer, and we will continue to hold Ward Transformer and others accountable for violating federal laws that serve to protect our environment and natural resources."

"EPA has overseen extensive cleanup work at the Ward Transformer Superfund Site, including the removal of over 420,000 tons of PCB-contaminated material in 2006 and ongoing work to clean up the remainder of the site,” EPA Region 4 Administrator Mary Walker said in a statement.

To date, EPA and private parties have spent over $90 million to clean up the site.

The owner of Ward Transformer was prosecuted 40 years ago for knowingly causing PCBs to be illegally dumped, and the government also won civil judgments against the company for previous cleanup costs.