) -- Chemtura Corp., the bankrupt
plastic-additives maker, expects to complete negotiations with
most federal and state regulators over costs to clean up
pollution by mid-July, a lawyer for the company said.
“We think we can have an agreement in principle with the
majority of parties in the next 30 days,” Chemtura lawyer Brian
Stansbury told U.S. District Judge Richard Berman in Manhattan
today.
The company, based in Middlebury, Connecticut, already has
a preliminary agreement with some agencies fighting for about $2
billion in cleanup costs, Stansbury said. Chemtura will file a
reorganization plan by June 17 that will clarify the company’s
progress in the talks, he said.
Maureen Leary, a lawyer for New York state’s Environmental
Protection Bureau, said New York and New Jersey aren’t close to
an agreement with Chemtura, and there is “no substantial
likelihood” that they will settle within 30 days.
“We’re not hearing what we need to hear on the other side,
and we haven’t heard it for 10 months,” she said. “There’s a
huge chasm between the two sides.”
Chemtura, which filed for bankruptcy protection in March
2009, sued the U.S. and several states, claiming it should be
able to cancel some environmental claims because of its
bankruptcy. The U.S. won its bid to have the case moved to
district court from bankruptcy court.
Gowanus Canal
As many as 197 sites may be involved, the U.S. said in
court papers. The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking
about $2 billion in cleanup costs for at least 19 sites where i
claims Chemtura is partly responsible. The largest estimated
cost, $1 billion, is for a cleanup of the Gowanus Canal in
Brooklyn, New York.
Chemtura’s complaint, filed as part of its reorganization
in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, sought a declaration by
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Gerber that all environmental
claims against sites owned by affiliates or their corporate
