August 21, 2024: A $7 million settlement deal was announced on August 14 for costs linked to the remediation of a former C&D Batteries ‘superfund’ site in New York State.

The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) announced the settlement with Avnet for costs associated with the remediation of the site at Deer Park, Orange County.

As part of an order negotiated by DEC, in partnership with New York State’s attorney general, the former owner and operator of the site will pay $6.3 million towards the cost of remediation activities already underway and $700,000 for natural resource damages.

Attorney general Letitia James said: “I applaud the work my team did to ensure Avnet was held accountable and paid its fair share of the C&D Power Systems state superfund site remediation costs.”

The state-funded cleanup of the site began in December 2023 and is scheduled for completion in early 2025. DEC will continue to provide oversight of the cleanup work to ensure protection of public health and the environment.

According to DEC, the Empire Tube Company manufactured tubes for black and white television sets at the site from 1959 to around 1970.

Hydrofluoric acid was used in the manufacturing process to remove carbon and potassium silicate from the inside of the tubes. During this period, industrial wastewater was discharged to a lagoon adjacent to the northeastern corner of the plant building.

C&D Technologies Incorporated operated at the facility manufacturing industrial lead batteries from the mid-1970s to 2006. From the mid-1970s until around 1982, C&D discharged non-contact cooling water into the lagoon, DEC said.