By BRENT MARTIN
St. Joseph Post
Legal entanglements arising from alleged environmental damage caused by a downtown St. Joseph chemical company seem on the way to being resolved.
The City of St. Joseph dropped a complaint against HPI Products last year after the company went into receivership and the federal government stepped in to clean up alleged environmental damage from the company.
Now, the Environmental Protection Agency has reached a settlement with the city. The EPA and the Department of Justice have agreed not to sue the city. In exchange, the city has agreed to remove and dispose of identified polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)-containing ballasts at a property. The property will be capped and likely used as a parking lot for a nearby fire station.
For the past year, an EPA approved contractor has been cleaning up the HPI site.
The agreement is now subject to a public comment period.
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