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Bankruptcy Keyed to Bussel, 12th Ed.
United States v. Apex Oil Co.
Citation:
579 F.3d 734 (2009)Facts
The EPA brought an action against Apex Oil Company under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) to force cleanup of a contaminated site in Hartford, Illinois. The contamination consisted of millions of gallons of oil forming a “hydrocarbon plume” trapped underground that was contaminating groundwater and emitting hazardous fumes that rose to the surface and entered houses in the area. After a 17-day bench trial, the district court found that Apex was legally responsible for the contamination because it was created by an oil refinery owned by Apex’s corporate predecessor. Apex no longer conducts refining operations and would need to hire another company to perform the cleanup at an estimated cost of $150 million. Apex argued that this obligation had been discharged in its prior Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings completed years earlier.
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