WASHINGTON, D.C. — In what is being called the most comprehensive remediation settlement agreement in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, Merck & Co. has agreed to pay more than $20 million to settle a number of state and federal Clean Water Act (CWA) violations arising from three spills at its pharmaceutical plant near Philadelphia (United States of America v. Merck & Co., Inc., No. 07-5239, E.D. Pa.).
According to a press release issued Dec. 14 by the U.S. Department of Justice, Merck will pay $10 million for preventative measures at its West Point, Pa., facility, along with nearly $9 million “for extensive environmental projects.” Merck will also pay nearly $1.58 million in penalties and civil damages, which will be distributed to the United States ($750,000), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania ($750,000) and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission ($75,000).
The complaint, filed Dec. 14 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania along with the settlement papers, alleges that Merck violated the CWA on at least four occasions between June 13, 2006, and Aug. 16, 2006, “with several discrete discharges that caused numerous pass through and interference violations at the [Upper Gwynedd Township Publicly Owned Treatment Works] facility.”
According to the press release, which can be viewed on the DOJ Web site at http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2007/December/07_enrd_1000.html, the proposed consent decree is subject to a 30-day public comment period and court approval.
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