TCE Claims Move Beyond Plant
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WATER VALLEY — The barrage of environmental lawsuits stemming from contamination tied to the former Holley Automotive plant in Water Valley continued in July, with seven additional suits filed in Yalobusha County Circuit Court. The new filings bring the number of state court lawsuits in the ongoing litigation to 20, up from 13 when the Herald last reported on the cases in May.
And as the number of lawsuits grows, the allegations continue to evolve.
Two of the seven lawsuits filed in July include claims from people who allege they were exposed to TCE outside the plant, including while working at Yalobusha General Hospital, Yalobusha General Nursing Home, Odom Rural Health Clinic or other businesses and institutions in the area surrounding the contamination plume.
The companies targeted by the litigation are changing as well. EnPro Industries and EnPro Holdings, first named as defendants in two of the three lawsuits filed in May, are defendants in five of the seven July cases. Earlier litigation involving the site established that EnPro retained responsibility for environmental liabilities associated with the former Holley operation when BorgWarner acquired the plant. Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has also previously directed EnPro to conduct remediation associated with the site.
Two of the July lawsuits also name Solero Technologies LLC and/or BorgWarner Emissions Systems LLC as defendants for the first time.
Solero Technologies currently operates the manufacturing facility at 600 Highway 32 East. The operation became Solero after Atar Capital acquired the Water Valley facility and associated business from BorgWarner at the end of 2021. The complaints allege the current owner or operator has failed to stop the continued northward migration of TCE and that TCE continues to be released from the facility.
Plaintiffs contend that agreements leaving historical environmental liability with EnPro do not necessarily relieve the current owner or operator of responsibility for what they allege is an ongoing environmental condition.
Other defendants named in the lawsuits include Detrex Corporation and Italmatch USA Corporation, which plaintiffs connect to the TCE degreasing equipment and chemical; and WSP USA Inc., First Environment Inc., AAE Consulting LLC, Dames & Moore Inc., W.L. Burle Engineers P.A. and Avant Construction, which plaintiffs allege were involved at various times in investigating or remediating the contamination. Individual defendants Kevin Moore and Michael Slack are also named in some of the lawsuits in connection with remediation work.
Lawsuit Background
At the center of the litigation is trichloroethylene, or TCE, an industrial solvent historically used to clean and degrease metal parts.
The contamination dates back decades at the industrial facility at 600 Highway 32 East. Previous lawsuits and environmental records have traced the use of TCE at the Holley Automotive Division of Colt Industries to the early 1970s.
Lawsuits filed over the past decade have alleged that TCE was improperly handled and disposed of at the plant, allowing the chemical to contaminate soil and groundwater. The existence of TCE contamination and decades of environmental investigation and remediation at the site are documented, although many of the specific disposal practices described in the current lawsuits remain allegations.
Environmental investigations identified a groundwater contamination plume extending north and northwest from the former plant property. Court filings and regulatory records have described the affected area as approximately 340 acres.
MDEQ has overseen remediation associated with the site. Work has included groundwater monitoring and mitigation efforts and measures addressing vapor intrusion, which occurs when chemical vapors migrate through soil and enter buildings.
Environmental covenants have also been recorded on properties within the plume restricting installation of groundwater wells without regulatory approval.
State officials have reported that Water Valley’s public drinking water, which is drawn from deeper aquifers, has not tested positive for TCE. The city’s public water supply is separate from the contaminated groundwater associated with the plume.
The latest lawsuits contend that the contamination continues to migrate north and that its full extent has not been adequately determined. Those allegations, along with claims that individual plaintiffs were exposed to TCE and that the exposure caused their illnesses, have not been proven in court.
Allegations Continue To Evolve
The initial lawsuits, beginning with the first filing in February, focused largely on former plant employees who allege TCE exposure caused cancers and other serious health conditions.
Many of the plaintiffs in the July lawsuits are also former workers or families pursuing wrongful death claims involving former workers.
The new complaints also include people who allege exposure outside the plant, including at the hospital and other locations in or near the contamination plume. They allege exposure occurred through contaminated groundwater, water and vapors. Those claims are accusations made by the plaintiffs and their attorneys and represent one side of the litigation. The defendants will have an opportunity to respond, and the allegations have not been proven in court.
The hospital has also figured into earlier litigation. Yalobusha County and Yalobusha General Hospital previously sued EnPro Industries over TCE contamination affecting the value of county-owned property within the plume. That litigation ended in a confidential settlement in 2019, according to court documents. Supervisors later confirmed the county received $3 million.
A separate lawsuit involving 33 private property owners within the contamination plume, who sought damages for loss of property value, also ended in a confidential settlement in 2019.
The type of claims being made is beginning to expand as well.
The 20 state court lawsuits filed this year have centered primarily on claims seeking damages for personal injury and wrongful death. Four of the seven July lawsuits add public nuisance claims, alleging the contamination has interfered with plaintiffs’ use and enjoyment of their property and diminished property values.
The plaintiffs are represented by Hollowell and Andrew Tominello of the Hollowell Law Firm in Greenville and Phillip C. Hearn of Hearn Law Firm PLLC in Jackson.
George “Boo” Hollowell told the Herald in March that the cases filed at that point were expected to be the first of many and that the litigation could eventually involve dozens of lawsuits and close to 1,000 plaintiffs.
The seven lawsuits filed in July add 176 named plaintiffs or plaintiff representatives, bringing the total across the 20 state court cases to more than 560.
The allegations contained in the complaints have not been proven in court.
