FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ENR

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1994 (202) 616-0189

TDD (202) 514-1888
EPA (312) 886-0765
FORD AGREES TO PAY $935,000 FOR CLEAN UP COSTS
AT MICHIGAN SUPERFUND SITE

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Ford Motor Company has agreed to pay $935,000 to

reimburse the United States for costs incurred in connection with the
cleanup of a Michigan Superfund site where the company allegedly disposed
of paint sludge in an abandoned sand and gravel pit from 1966 through 1977,
the Department of Justice said today. This settlement resulted from the
parties' effort to avoid litigation by using alternative dispute
resolution, a form of mediation.
Assistant Attorney General Lois J. Schiffer of the Environment and
Natural Resources Division said Ford deserves credit for recognizing early
on in discussions with the United States that alternative dispute
resolution was an option worth pursuing.
"Region V is committed to using all available resources in seeking
equitable agreements in Superfund litigation," remarked Valdas V. Adamkus,
EPA Regional Administrator. "Besides saving
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the taxpayers enormous time and expense, alternative dispute

resolution can facilitate the resolution of environmental enforcement
actions. We've used it successfully in the past and will continue to use
it in the future."
Under an earlier agreement with the United States, Ford already had
excavated and treated paint sludges found at the Spiegelberg Superfund site
in Green Oak Township, Michigan, and is currently working to clean up the
groundwater under a previous administrative order issud by EPA. Total
clean up costs are estimated to be about $25 million. The parties had not
agreed, however, on reimbursement of the United States' costs related to
oversight of site cleanup.
After the United States and Ford failed to agree on how much
documentation the government needed to establish its costs, the parties
agreed to use mediation to facilitate an agreement and avoid costly,
lengthy litigation.
"This settlement resulted from the effective use of alternative
dispute resolution," said Schiffer. "We will continue to look for other
appropriate cases to use this process."
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