PRESS RELEASE - JANUARY 6, 2005
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TRANSTECH INDUSTRIES, INC. ANNOUNCES PROPOSED SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS REGARDING THE KIN-BUC LANDFILL
PISCATAWAY, N.J., January 6, 2005
- Robert V. Silva, President and Chief Executive Officer of Transtech
Industries, Inc. (OTC BULLETIN BOARD:TRTI)
announced that on December 30, 2004, the Company executed Consent Decrees
which, when entered by the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey
(the "Court"), will resolve the claims brought against the Company
and others by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA"), the
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and New Jersey Spill
Compensation Fund regarding the Kin-Buc Landfill.
The Kin-Buc Landfill ceased
operations in 1977, and the landfill and certain neighboring property are
undergoing remediation pursuant to Administrative Orders issued by EPA in
September 1990 and November 1992 (the "Orders").
As previously disclosed, during May,
2002 the United States Department of Justice filed Civil Action
No.02-2077(D.N.J.), taken on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act
42 U.S.C. sections 9601-9675(c), in which EPA sought payment of $4.2 million of
past response costs allegedly incurred with respect to the Kin-Buc Landfill and
$18.1 million of penalties for alleged delays in completing remediation
activities at the landfill and neighboring areas. During September 2002, the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection and New Jersey Spill Compensation filed suit seeking reimbursement
of unspecified past costs allegedly incurred with respect to the Kin-Buc
Landfill and for unspecified alleged natural resource damages. The suits were consolidated and then stayed
pending the outcome of mediation. The
defendants included Transtech and two of its wholly owned subsidiaries, and
Waste Management, Inc. and certain of its affiliates (WMI and its affiliates
collectively referred herein as the "WMI Group"). The WMI Group had agreed to indemnify the
Company against the claims for past response costs and natural resource damage
pursuant to the terms of a 1997 Settlement Agreement, but not the penalties
sought by EPA in this action.
One of the two Consent Decrees
executed on December 30, 2004, resolved the claims of EPA. EPA accepted a $2,625,000 cash payment by
the WMI Group, plus interest, in satisfaction of EPA’s claim for past response
costs. The EPA claim for penalties was
settled for a cash payment of $100,000, plus interest, of which $35,111.99 was
paid by the Company, plus additional consideration consisting of (a) the
granting of a conservation easement on the Kin-Buc Landfill property, and
approximately 74 acres of real property in the vicinity of the Kin-Buc
Landfill, owned by the Company (the "Subject Property") to a third
party non-profit organization, the Clean Land Fund ("CLF") thereby
preserving the Subject Property as open space in perpetuity, (b) the transfer
of title of the Subject Property to CLF, (c) the commitment by the Company,
through CLF as its agent, to develop and implement a Wetlands Restoration and
Land Management Project that includes an Open Space Land Management Plan for
the Subject Properties and a Wetlands Restoration Plan for certain parcels of
the Subject Property together with, if possible, certain neighboring properties
owned or leased by third parties, and (d) an initial payment of $108,000 to CLF
to fund its work related to (a), (b), and (c) above, of which the Company paid
$68,000. An additional $20,000 shall be paid to CLF, $5,000 of which by the
Company, if certain events transpire.
The Company’s investment in the Subject Property was written-off for
book and tax purposes during the 1980’s.
The Open Space Land Management Plan
and Wetlands Restoration Plan (collectively referred herein as the
"Plans") are to be developed and implemented by CLF as agent for the
Company. EPA may impose financial
penalties on the Company if the Company or CLF should fail to adhere to the
terms and conditions of the above Consent Decree. The Company and CLF may be substantially relieved from the
development and implementation of the Plans if either (i) EPA determines the
Plans cannot be completed in accordance with the terms of the above Consent
Decree, or (ii) the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers should proceed with the pending
wetlands restoration project submitted by CLF for properties in the area
including the Subject Property.
A second Consent Decree addressed
the claims of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection and New
Jersey Spill Compensation Fund (the "NJ Agencies"). The NJ Agencies agreed to resolve their
claims against the defendants in exchange for a cash payment of $110,000 paid
by the WMI Group and the commitment of the WMI Group to perform wetlands
restoration on certain property in the vicinity of the Kin-Buc Landfill,
including certain parcels of the Subject Property.
The Consent Decrees have been submitted for execution by the appropriate officials within their agencies, and will then be lodged with the Court for not less than thirty-days for public notice and comment. EPA or State Agencies may or may not elect to amend or withdraw their respective Consent Decrees, at the conclusion of the public review. If not amended or withdrawn, the Consent Decrees will be submitted to the Court for approval and entry.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements as defined by federal securities laws, that are based on current expectations and involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to differ materially from results expressed or implied by this press release. Such risks and uncertainties include among others, the following: general economic and business conditions; the ability of the Company to implement its business strategy; the Company’s ability to successfully identify new business opportunities; changes in the industry; competition; the effect of regulatory and legal proceedings. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release speak only as of the date of release; and the Company does not undertake to revise those forward-looking statements to reflect events after the date of this release.
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