TRC Exit StrategyTM Resolves Bankruptcy Claims and Creates Beneficial Re-Use of 43 Acre Louisiana Landfill
TRC recently acquired a 43 acre contaminated landfill in Louisiana through an Exit Strategy contract with a major manufacturer emerging from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy. TRC’s Client, the Debtor, could not emerge from bankruptcy without resolving all of the environmental claims asserted by various state and federal governmental agencies concerning pollution attributable to the Site. TRC structured an Exit Strategy solution that resulted in all of the environmental claims against the Debtor being extinguished as well as the beneficial re-use of the Site.
The landfill Site was used from the 1940s through the 1980s as an industrial waste disposal facility and is situated adjacent to a tributary that feeds the Mississippi River. Pursuant to its Exit Strategy Program, TRC became the owner of the landfill and assumed all environmental cleanup obligations associated with the Site. As landowner, TRC entered into an Administrative Settlement Agreement with the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to develop and implement a Post Closure Plan for the landfill, allowing for Site remediation and subsequent sale to another party. The plan called for the abatement of leachate seeps and erosion restoration on the sloping southern face of the landfill cap, which flows to the water tributary.
Upon completion of the cleanup, TRC obtained a ‘Ready-for-Reuse’ clearance which provided prospective purchasers with redevelopment reassurances and established Site use restrictions ensuring the landfill integrity would not be compromised. The remediated Site was successfully sold and transferred to a local business entity.
The transaction resulted in the offset of TRC’s Exit Strategy project costs, helped establish the Site as an economic asset to the local community, and mitigated hazardous water pollution.
TRC Exit Strategy Solution
TRC’s solutions allowed all parties to divest themselves of environmental cleanup liability under a structure that offered multiple benefits.
- Provided Complete Liability Transfer
TRC’s Exit Strategy Program made it possible for the Client to transfer all liability, risk and environmental cleanup obligations associated with the Site.
- Facilitated Emergence from Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
By providing a fixed price resolution, TRC’s Exit Strategy Program gave the client long-term confidence that the environmental liability from the Site would not hinder the ability of the business to continue operation. The Client was able to avoid significant transaction costs in the process.
- Mitigated an Environmental Risk
TRC’s streamlined approach to remediating the Site allowed for the implementation of comprehensive corrective action that was approved by local regulatory agencies.
- Promoted Reuse of Site as a Local Asset
Securing reuse approvals from appropriate governmental authorities allowed TRC to put the Site back into productive re-use by a local business for use as a community asset.
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