2 companies in Fox River cleanup won’t have to pay

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) – A federal judge has decided that two companies won’t have to pay for the cleanup of PCBs from Little Lake Butte des Morts and portions of the Fox River.

NCR Corp. and Appleton Papers Inc. won their argument that they can’t be held solely responsible for discharging toxic polychlorinated biphenyls into the river in the 1950s and 1960s.

Federal and state environmental officials contended that, while the companies apparently weren’t directly involved in polluting, they are liable for cleanup on Little Lake Butte des Morts and northward on the Fox.

That’s because they owned the companies that allegedly arranged to have other area paper companies dispose of their toxic waste.

The Green Bay Press Gazette reports the courts are still working to resolve how the costs will be divided.

Information from: Green Bay Press-Gazette, http://www.greenbaypressgazette.com