PHILADELPHIA — The former Jay-Cee Cleaners and former owner John L. Darby have agreed to reimburse the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for costs the agency incurred while responding to the release of hazardous substances once used at the site, the agency reports.
Darby also agreed to resolve his failure to comply with EPA’s information-gathering efforts by paying a penalty.
The Nelsonia, Va., dry cleaning business ran its operations on the property from 1957 through 2003, and used hazardous substances that included tetrachloroethylene, trichloroethylene and dichloroethylene, which contaminated the soil, the EPA says.
The agency oversaw sampling, removal and disposal of contaminated soil from the Jay-Cee Cleaners site between September 2007 and March 2010, at a reported cost of $616,351.
Under the proposed consent decree, Darby will pay the EPA 100% of the net sale proceeds from sale of the property, and 50% of net sale proceeds from the sale of an adjacent property behind the site.
The settlement will go toward EPA’s Superfund for future hazardous-waste cleanup efforts.
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