Judge Gives Final OK to Settlement Over Chemical Explosion

A federal judge gave final approval Oct. 6 to a $7.9 million deal to settle claims brought by as many as 13,000 residents of Apex, N.C., who were evacuated in 2006 after an explosion at a hazardous-waste plant.

Judge W. Earl Britt of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina preliminarily approved the settlement with defendant EQ Industrial Services Inc. in July. At that time, he granted class certification for purposes of the settlement.

The judge also approved three subclasses:

• A "recommended evacuation" subclass of people who lived in the recommended evacuation zone;
• A "secondary evacuation" subclass of those who resided outside the recommended evacuation zone; and
• A business-loss subclass.

The judge held a fairness hearing Oct. 6 to give final approval to the deal.

Of the $7.9 million settlement amount, $3.1 million will go to the recommended-evacuation and secondary-evacuation subclasses, payable up to $750 per household. Members of the business-loss subclass will get $1.2 million, payable up to $2,200 per member.

Nine class representatives each will receive $11,000, and a recently named representative will receive $1,000.

Judge Britt said that about $3 million of the settlement will cover attorney fees and costs.

The plaintiffs estimate that the total number of evacuees exceeds 13,000 and said the incident caused about 542 businesses to close.

EQ's Apex facility processed a wide array of industrial waste, from paints and solvents to chemical pesticides and fertilizers. The town is located about 14 miles west of Raleigh.

In settling the state's charges concerning environmental violations, the company agreed not to reopen the facility.

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