The Obama Administration has filed a lawsuit against 10 companies and two municipalities to ensure the continued cleanup of Wisconsin’s Lower Fox River and Green Bay Superfund site. The lawsuit, filed jointly by the U.S. government and the state of Wisconsin on Oct. 14, also seeks payment of associated government costs and for damages to natural resources. Total cleanup costs and damages could exceed $1 billion.
Work has been ongoing at the site, which was contaminated with approximately 250,000 lbs of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) that were released by manufacturers of “carbonless” copy paper from the late 1950s to the early 1970s. More than $300 million in cleanup work already has been completed at the site under a set of partial settlements and an Environmental Protection Agency administrative order.