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IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND SEVERSTAL SPARROWS POINT, LLC Petitioner, * * * v. * * * UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL * PROTECTION AGENCY AND STATE OF * MARYLAND DEPARTMENT OF THE * ENVIRONMENT, * Respondents. * * * ******
OPINION

Civil No. JFM-97-558 JFM-97-559

On July 30, 2010, Severstal Sparrows Point, LLC ("Severstal") filed a Petition with this Court to resolve disputes with the United States Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") and the Maryland Department of Environment ("MDE") pursuant to the dispute resolution provisions contained within Section XX of the 1997 Consent Decree entered in this Court in Maryland v. Bethlehem Steel Corp., No. JFM-97-558 (D. Md. filed Feb. 25, 2007). The Consent Decree detailed the environmental obligations of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation ("BSC") for the Sparrows Point Facility ("the Facility"), which is now owned by Severstal. The Petition requests, inter alia, that I resolve a dispute over the effect of the April 23, 2003 Bankruptcy Sale Order entered by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York1 on the obligations of Severstal under the 1997 Consent Decree. For the reasons stated below, I find that the Bankruptcy Sale Order does limit Severstals liability under the 1997 Consent Decree to releases of hazardous wastes and hazardous

1

See In re Bethlehem Steel Corp., et al., Ch. 11 Case Nos. 01-15288 through -15302, and 0101308 through -15315. 1

constituents occurring after April 23, 2003 only. That finding, however, does not lead me to conclude

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