‘Old GM’ to Pay $773M to|Settle Pollution Claims

(CN) - The company formerly known as General Motors has agreed to shell out $773 million to settle environmental pollution claims with the federal government, 14 states and the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, the government announced Wednesday.

The settlement filed Wednesday in Manhattan bankruptcy court settles claims that the Motors Liquidation Co., formerly called GM, violated the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, and state environmental laws.

General Motors Corp., referred to as the "Old GM," agreed to pay more than $641.4 million in cash and contribute assets estimated at $120 million to clean up and administer 89 sites, 59 of which are known to be polluted with hazardous waste.

The company will pay another $11.5 million for cleanup efforts during its ongoing bankruptcy proceeding.

Old GM, formerly the second-largest automotive maker in the world, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June 2009. A month later, the bankruptcy court approved a motion allowing it to sell its assets to a newly formed corporation, the General Motors Co.

The United States filed environmental claims against Old GM in October 2009 and April 2010.

Half of the funds will go toward cleanup in New York and Michigan. Nearly $121 million is to be allocated to a site in St. Lawrence County, N.Y., where Old GM operated an aluminum diecasting plant from 1959 to 2009. The money will be used to clean up hazardous substances, including polycholorinated biphenyls.

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, whose lands were affected by contamination, is expected to join as a party and receive a cut of the $121 million.

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