Seven-year-old case deals with wastewater generated by Rowley operation

A seven-year-old lawsuit brought against MagCorp — now US Magnesium — by the Department of Justice on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency will finally be heard in a trial this fall, according to EPA officials.

The EPA is accusing the Rowley-based magnesium producer of illegally generating, storing and disposing of waste, including at least five wastes regarded as hazardous because of their toxicity or corrosivity. The EPA questioned certain wastewaters generated at the Rowley facility and their applicability to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the federal statute governing the treatment and disposal of hazardous waste.

Sharon Kercher, director for technical enforcement for the EPA's Region 8, said the case is still open with a trial date set for September.

"Unfortunately, the litigation process is rather slow and we're just still going through that," she said.

In the suit, the EPA claims that MagCorp has failed to meet the regulatory requirements set by the RCRA. However, US Magnesium claims the disputed wastes in the suit are exempt from RCRA regulations.

In October 2007, U.S. District Court Judge Dee Benson ruled on a substantial portion of the case. In that ruling, the judge granted partial summary judgment to US Magnesium.

In Benson's decision, he wrote that from 1989 to 1991, the EPA found that 'the process wastewater from primary magnesium processing by the anhydrous process' was exempt from the RCRA pursuant to the Bevill Amendment during the EPA's data gathering efforts.

Benson later added that the court found the disputed wastewaters being challenged by the EPA as non-exempt RCRA wastes were in fact exempt based on the EPA's previous final regulatory determination.

In May 2005, a second lawsuit against US Magnesium was filed, alleging violations of the Toxic Substances Control Act involving polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs)

— a substance inadvertently generated from processes at US Magnesium. The original lawsuit and the second lawsuit were combined a month later in June 2005.

Tom Tripp, technical services manager at US Magnesium, said the PCB issues and the few remaining issues from the original lawsuit have a September trial date.

"There are still some unresolved matters that will come to trial. Most of the remaining issues are related to the inadvertent generation of PCBs," he said. "US Magnesium believes we have a pretty good case, and we're preparing to defend ourselves vigorously."

US Magnesium's Rowley plant produces at least 50,000 tons of magnesium each year, Tripp said.

The company is part of the Renco Group, owned by billionaire Ira Rennert, an industrialist and securities broker who is perhaps most famous for owning a beachfront home in Sagaponack, New York, that is one of the largest and most valuable residential compounds in America.

Sarah Miley: swest@tooeletranscript.com