Lyondell Chemical seeks approval of settlement with state agencies

By Lisa Kerner

Charlotte, N.C., March 31 - Lyondell Chemical Co. wants the court to approve a settlement agreement among the debtors, the trustee of the environmental custodial trust, the United States and certain state environmental agencies from the states of California, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Texas, according to a Wednesday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

The settlement agreement resolves multiple environmental claims and liabilities asserted by the federal and state governments totaling several billion dollars, the filing said.

Under the settlement, certain environmentally contaminated parcels of real property owned by the debtors would be transferred to a trust for the benefit of the state environmental agencies and the federal government.

The transfer would include an agreed upon amount of cash to fund cleanup of the parcels, restoration of injured natural resources and administrative expenses of the trust.

According to the filing, the federal and state government agencies filed proofs of claim asserting various environmental claims and liabilities totaling approximately $5.5 billion.

A hearing is scheduled for April 23.

Lyondell is a U.S. subsidiary of LyondellBasell Industries AF SCA, a Netherlands-based polymer, petrochemicals and fuels company.

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