Bill Text: NJ AR32 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges Argentina to fulfill its Superfund obligations for Passaic River and elsewhere.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Environment and Solid Waste Committee [AR32 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-AR32-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman KEVIN J. ROONEY
District 40 (Bergen, Essex, Morris and Passaic)
Assemblyman DAVID W. WOLFE
District 10 (Ocean)
Assemblyman GORDON M. JOHNSON
District 37 (Bergen)
Assemblyman GARY S. SCHAER
District 36 (Bergen and Passaic)
Co-Sponsored by:
Assemblyman Giblin
SYNOPSIS
Urges Argentina to fulfill its Superfund obligations for Passaic River and elsewhere.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Assembly Resolution urging the government of Argentina to be a more responsible global corporate citizen and fulfill its Superfund obligations for the Passaic River and elsewhere.
Whereas, Beginning in the 1940s, and continuing for several decades, the Diamond Alkali Company (later Maxus Energy Corporation) owned and operated a facility at 80-120 Lister Avenue in Newark, New Jersey that manufactured agricultural chemicals, including the herbicide known as "Agent Orange"; and
Whereas, In 1983, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection found high levels of dioxin, an extremely toxic byproduct of the agricultural manufacturing process, at the 80-120 Lister Avenue site and in the Passaic River; and
Whereas, The EPA placed the Diamond Alkali site on the Superfund National Priorities List in 1984, beginning a decades-long effort to clean up the site and ensure the cooperation of responsible parties, such as Maxus; and
Whereas, Subsequent studies showed that the Diamond Alkali site contains a large number of other hazardous substances including semi-volatile and volatile organic compounds, herbicides, pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and metals, which affected and continue to affect the soil, groundwater, air, surface water, and building structures at the site; and
Whereas, Contamination from the Diamond Alkali site also affected large portions of the Passaic River, leading to prohibitions and advisories on fish and crab consumption for the tidal Passaic River and Newark Bay; and
Whereas, In 1995, Argentina's now state-owned oil company, YPF S.A., acquired Maxus, presumably with full knowledge of the environmental liabilities it would inherit with the acquisition; and
Whereas, In March 2016, the EPA announced its Record of Decision (ROD) to remediate contaminated sediments found in the lower 8.3 miles of the Lower Passaic River, a part of the Diamond Alkali site, at a cost of $1.38 billion; and
Whereas, Shortly after the ROD was issued, in June 2016, YPF S.A. placed Maxus into bankruptcy, in an apparent attempt to avoid paying the company's environmental liabilities; and
Whereas, The bankruptcy proceedings followed a series of transactions in which YPF S.A. allegedly stripped billions of dollars in assets out of Maxus, leaving it unable to pay its share of the Superfund cleanup costs for the Diamond Alkali site, the Passaic River, and other Superfund sites; and
Whereas, While simultaneously attempting to shed environmental liabilities in bankruptcy proceedings, YPF S.A. completed a successful bond issuance in which it raised $1.75 billion from investors on Wall Street; and
Whereas, YPF S.A.'s actions will potentially shift the burden of hundreds of millions of dollars in liabilities to other stakeholders, including other potentially responsible parties and the United States government, and sets a dangerous precedent for other Superfund sites; and
Whereas, Federal bankruptcy laws are designed to assist companies and individuals who have a legitimate need for protection from creditors, not to assist or protect profitable companies seeking to avoid environmental liabilities; and
Whereas, YPF S.A.'s actions contradict the words of Argentina's President Mauricio Macri that Argentina is starting an "era of good judgment, respect for the rules, where we try to be better every day. . ." and that "Argentina shows opportunity, for doing good business, taking care of the environment to fight climate change, paying taxes"; and
Whereas, Instead of apparently abusing the United States bankruptcy system to avoid paying environmental liabilities, the government of Argentina can be true to the words of its president by fulfilling its Superfund obligations for the Passaic River and elsewhere; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. This House urges the government of Argentina, as the owner of the oil company YPF S.A., to be a more responsible global corporate citizen and fulfill its environmental cleanup obligations under the Superfund program for the Diamond Alkali site, the Passaic River, and elsewhere.
2. Copies of this resolution, as filed with the Secretary of State, shall be transmitted by the Clerk of the General Assembly to the President of Argentina, the Argentinian Ambassador to the United States, the Argentinian Ambassador to the United Nation, the President of the United States, the United States Ambassador to Argentina, the United States Ambassador to the United Nations, the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, the Region 2 Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, each member of the New Jersey Congressional delegation, the Governor of the State of New Jersey, and the Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
STATEMENT
This resolution would urge the government of Argentina to be a more responsible global corporate citizen and fulfill its Superfund obligations for the Passaic River and elsewhere.
Beginning in the 1940s, and continuing for several decades, the Diamond Alkali Company (later Maxus Energy Corporation) owned and operated a facility at 80-120 Lister Avenue in Newark, New Jersey that manufactured agricultural chemicals, including the herbicide known as "Agent Orange." In 1983, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection found high levels of dioxin, an extremely toxic chemical, at the 80-120 Lister Avenue site and in the Passaic River. Consequently, the EPA placed the Diamond Alkali site on the Superfund National Priorities List in 1984. This began a decades-long effort to clean up the site and ensure the cooperation of responsible parties, such as Maxus.
In 1995, Argentina's now state-owned oil company, YPF S.A., acquired Maxus, presumably with full knowledge of the environmental liabilities it would inherit. In March 2016, the EPA announced its Record of Decision (ROD) to remediate the lower 8.3 miles of the Lower Passaic River, a part of the Diamond Alkali site, at a cost of $1.38 billion. Shortly after the ROD was issued, in June 2016, YPF S.A. placed Maxus into bankruptcy, in an apparent attempt to avoid paying the company's environmental liabilities. The bankruptcy proceedings followed a series of transactions in which YPF S.A. allegedly stripped billions of dollars in assets out of Maxus, leaving it unable to pay its share of the Superfund cleanup costs for the Diamond Alkali site, the Passaic River, and elsewhere.
YPF S.A.'s actions will potentially shift the burden of hundreds of millions of dollars in liabilities to other stakeholders, including other potentially responsible parties and the United States government, and sets a dangerous precedent for other Superfund sites. These actions contradict the words of Argentina's President Mauricio Macri that Argentina is starting an "era of good judgment, respect for the rules, where we try to be better every day. . ." and that "Argentina shows opportunity, for doing good business, taking care of the environment to fight climate change, paying taxes." Instead of abusing the United States bankruptcy system to avoid paying environmental liabilities, the government of Argentina can be true to the words of its president by fulfilling its Superfund obligations for the Passaic River and elsewhere.
