The Fox River cleanup project is delayed until a U.S. District Judge appoints the body responsible for paying the costs of more than $1 billion for the project.
William Griesbach, U.S. District Judge, decided that the case will go further to trial in December, according to Mysanantonio.com. Appleton Papers, one of the two companies involved in polluting the river, was removed from the lawsuit. The other company NCR Corp, already contributed about $300 million for dredging works that removed the contaminated chemicals discharged years ago.
The judge stated that the paper company may have dumped harmful PCBs in the Fox River from 1956-1971, but then there were no regulations against that.
Assistant Attorney General, Ignacia Moreno , on Thursday, April 12, stated: “ One thing is clear: nothing in today’s ruling diminishes the need for entry of a preliminary injunction requiring the resumption of full-scale dredging work at the Lower Fox River and Green Bay Superfund site .”
The U.S. Justice Department has asked the judge to force NCR to resume dredging works. Appleton Paper and NCR stopped dredging last summer, but until then have done most of the works.
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Dredging Today Staff, April 13, 2012; Image: foxrivercleanup