Clean Harbors Inc. Agrees to Clean Up Devil’s Swamp Lake Superfund Site Near Baton Rouge, Louisiana

Clean Harbors Inc. and two of its subsidiaries, Clean Harbors Baton Rouge LLC and Baton Rouge Disposal LLC, have reached an over $5 million agreement with the Justice Department and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to clean up decades-old contamination at the Devil’s Swamp Lake Superfund Site just north of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 

A complaint filed today along with a proposed consent decree seeks an order requiring the Clean Harbors companies to perform a cleanup of pollution at Devil’s Swamp Lake, pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), also known as Superfund. The cleanup is estimated to cost over $3 million. Additionally, the consent decree requires reimbursement of over $2 million in costs incurred by the United States in responding to the contamination at Devil’s Swamp Lake. The companies will also pay the United States for all costs it spends in the future for that purpose.

“The Devil’s Swamp Lake Superfund Site is located in an area that is unfortunately already overburdened by a variety of environmental problems,” said Assistant Attorney General Todd Kim of the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division. “This settlement will protect the public from the dangerous chemicals that have been contaminating Devil’s Swamp Lake for decades and bring the community one step closer to reclaiming this and other important natural resources.”

“The people of Louisiana deserve safe, clean natural resources,” said U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Gathe Jr. for the Middle District of Louisiana. “This proposed consent decree will ensure that the Devil’s Swamp Lake Superfund Site is appropriately remediated and that the American taxpayers are reimbursed for costs incurred in responding to contamination at that site. I appreciate the hard work of our partners at EPA and at the Justice Department’s Environment and Natural Resources Division toward achieving this settlement.”

“The East Baton Rouge community expects and deserves the full protection of EPA’s cleanup laws and standards. This settlement is a huge step in resolving a decades-long issue for families that experience a higher burden of environmental problems than other areas of the parish,” said Regional Administrator Dr. Earthea Nance of EPA Region 6. “Holding companies accountable and financially responsible for the harms they commit is one of our strongest tools for getting overburdened communities the relief they deserve. I would like to thank our federal partners for their support in ensuring the site is cleaned up and given back to the communities.”

Devil’s Swamp Lake is contaminated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which are extremely harmful chemicals that build up in the environment over time and have been linked to cancer. Due in part to the levels of PCBs, Louisiana state agencies have repeatedly issued advisories warning the public not to swim in or eat fish caught in Devil’s Swamp Lake.

The Devil’s Swamp Lake Superfund Site is located in East Baton Rouge Parish, an area with a population that disproportionately suffers from pollution in the water and the air. Ensuring cleanup of hazardous waste at sites such as Devil’s Swamp Lake is an important aspect of a broader fight to achieve environmental justice.

The Environment and Natural Resources Division’s Environmental Enforcement Section is handling the case, in conjunction with EPA.

The complaint and the proposed consent decree were filed with the U.S. District Court for Middle District of Louisiana. The settlement is subject to a public comment period and final court approval. The consent decree is available for viewing on the Justice Department’s website at www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.