Corporate Accountability Project · Environmental Justice Reporting
Federal Complaint Filed · March 2026
ABB Inc. Left Clover, SC Residents Drinking Poisoned Water for Decades
A multinational corporation inherited a contaminated mine, pocketed the profits, and for more than 50 years allowed cobalt and manganese to poison the groundwater of a rural South Carolina community.
🔴 HIGH SEVERITY
TL;DR
ABB, Inc., a subsidiary of a Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation, owns land in Clover, South Carolina that was strip-mined for kyanite from 1947 to 1970. Acid mine drainage from the abandoned pit spread cobalt and manganese into the groundwater and surface water used by surrounding rural residents. ABB became legally responsible for this contamination after acquiring the original mining company, and has been required by the EPA to install water treatment systems at affected homes and supply bottled water. The US Department of Justice filed a federal lawsuit in March 2026 demanding that ABB pay at least $471,405 in cleanup costs already borne by taxpayers, perform the full remediation ordered by the EPA, and cover all future costs. A corporate giant inherited this land, profited from assets tied to its legacy, and left working-class families in a rural community to drink poisoned water while it stalled for decades.
Demand that ABB pay every dollar of remediation costs. This community has already paid too much.
$471K+
Taxpayer cleanup costs already incurred by the US government
185
Acres of contaminated land in Clover, York County
30+
Homes offered groundwater treatment systems due to contamination
76 yrs
Years this community has lived with pollution from the 1947 mine
⚠️ The Allegations: A Full Breakdown
Core Allegations
What ABB did · 5 points
| 01 | ABB, Inc. is the current owner and legal successor to Commercial Ores, Inc., which operated an open pit kyanite mine at the Henry’s Knob site in Clover, South Carolina from 1947 to 1970, leaving behind a 185-acre contamination zone including tailings impoundments and waste rock piles. | high |
| 02 | Acid mine drainage from the abandoned site caused cobalt and manganese, both classified as hazardous substances under CERCLA, to leach from soil into groundwater and discharge into surface water used by residential communities. | high |
| 03 | ABB purchased Combustion Engineering (successor to Commercial Ores) in 1990. When ABB later sold Combustion Engineering to Alstom Power, ABB contractually retained all environmental liabilities associated with the site, binding itself to the full cost of cleanup. | high |
| 04 | A 2011 Remedial Investigation confirmed that metal concentrations in soil, groundwater, and surface water at and around the site exceeded Regional Screening Levels and normal background levels, with cobalt and manganese found above safe thresholds in multiple drinking water wells. | high |
| 05 | The United States filed a federal complaint on March 19, 2026 seeking full reimbursement of at least $471,405 in response costs, injunctive relief ordering ABB to complete EPA-mandated remediation, and a declaratory judgment holding ABB liable for all future cleanup costs. | high |
Public Health and Safety
Unsafe groundwater and environmental hazards · 5 points
| 01 | Cobalt and manganese contamination from the site posed direct risks to residents using private wells for drinking water, prompting EPA to order installation of wellhead treatment systems at 30 homes in the surrounding area. | high |
| 02 | ABB was required to supply bottled drinking water to residents who declined or were unable to have wellhead treatment systems installed, acknowledging that their existing well water was too contaminated to consume safely. | high |
| 03 | The mine pit pond posed such a physical danger that ABB was required between 2015 and 2017 to install a fence to restrict public access, a recognition that the site itself remained an active hazard decades after mining ceased. | med |
| 04 | Assessments from 2000 to 2002 by the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control found elevated levels of metals in soil, sediment, surface water, and groundwater, confirming the site had been contaminating the environment for decades. | high |
| 05 | The EPA determined a final remedy cannot yet be selected because natural attenuation of contaminants must first be evaluated, meaning residents near the site face continued uncertainty about their water quality for years to come. | med |
Community Impact
Rural neighborhood and environmental harm · 4 points
| 01 | The site is surrounded by residential uses in a rural area of York County, South Carolina, meaning the families most harmed by the contamination are working-class rural residents with limited access to alternative water sources or legal recourse. | high |
| 02 | The site encompasses 185 acres of remnant open pit mine, tailings impoundments, and waste rock piles, creating an industrial sacrifice zone in the middle of a residential rural landscape. | med |
| 03 | Acid mine drainage continues to affect multiple tributaries at the site, spreading contamination from groundwater into surface waterways that flow through the surrounding community. | high |
| 04 | South Carolina’s concurrence on the EPA Interim Record of Decision signals that state authorities have acknowledged the severity of the contamination, yet no final remedy has been selected, leaving residents in a prolonged state of exposure and anxiety. | med |
Corporate Accountability Failures
Weak enforcement, delayed action, retained liability · 5 points
| 01 | Although the site qualified for listing on the National Priorities List (the Superfund list of the nation’s most contaminated sites), EPA used an alternative approach rather than the full Superfund listing, potentially limiting the speed and scope of remediation. | med |
| 02 | ABB has been engaged in remedial investigation and planning since at least 2004, yet as of March 2026, no final remedy has been selected and taxpayers have already absorbed over $471,000 in costs that ABB has refused to reimburse voluntarily. | high |
| 03 | ABB structured its sale of Combustion Engineering to Alstom Power in a way that transferred assets while retaining environmental liabilities, a corporate arrangement that preserved profit while saddling the public with risk. | high |
| 04 | The US government was forced to sue to recover costs already incurred, meaning ABB has not voluntarily stepped forward to fully address the contamination it is legally and morally responsible for, requiring federal enforcement action at further public expense. | high |
| 05 | EPA deferred selection of a final remedy pending evaluation of natural attenuation, a delay that benefits ABB by potentially reducing cleanup obligations while extending the period of risk for affected residents. | med |
Exploiting Delay
Slow enforcement as structural advantage · 3 points
| 01 | More than two decades elapsed between the South Carolina DHEC’s initial assessments (2000-2002) and the federal lawsuit filed in 2026, during which contaminated groundwater continued to threaten residential drinking water. | high |
| 02 | The 2004 Administrative Order on Consent required ABB to conduct a Remedial Investigation, but that investigation was not completed until 2011, a seven-year delay during which contamination continued to spread. | med |
| 03 | ABB submitted its Feasibility Study (evaluating cleanup alternatives) in May 2019, a full eight years after the Remedial Investigation concluded in 2011, demonstrating a pattern of slow-walking regulatory processes to defer cleanup costs. | high |
🕐 Timeline of Events
1947
Commercial Ores, Inc. begins open pit mining for kyanite at the Henry’s Knob site in Clover, York County, South Carolina.
1970
Mining operations cease. Commercial Ores merges to form Combustion Engineering, Inc., leaving behind 185 acres of mine pits, tailings, and waste rock.
1990
ABB, Inc. purchases Combustion Engineering, inheriting ownership of the contaminated Henry’s Knob property and all associated environmental liabilities.
2000-2002
South Carolina DHEC assessments find elevated levels of cobalt, manganese, and other metals in soil, sediment, surface water, and groundwater at and around the site.
2004
ABB enters Administrative Order on Consent with EPA, committing to conduct a Remedial Investigation to define the nature and extent of contamination.
2011
ABB completes the Remedial Investigation, confirming acid mine drainage has caused hazardous metals levels above safe thresholds in groundwater and surface water.
2012
ABB conducts an Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis to assess alternatives for protecting residents who use groundwater from the site area for drinking water.
2013
EPA orders ABB to install wellhead treatment systems on residential drinking water wells near the site. ABB offers treatment to 30 homes and supplies bottled water to others.
2015-2017
ABB conducts interim removal actions including fencing the mine pit pond, constructing check dams to limit erosion of tailings, and stabilizing tailings long-term.
May 2019
ABB submits a Feasibility Study evaluating remediation alternatives. EPA publishes a Proposed Interim Action Plan and seeks public comment.
Sept 2019
EPA selects an Interim Remedial Action, embodied in an Interim Record of Decision (IROD), requiring ABB to implement institutional controls, groundwater monitoring, and source area maintenance.
March 2021
EPA modifies the Interim Remedial Action with an Explanation of Significant Differences, adding new groundwater monitoring wells to gather necessary data.
March 19, 2026
The United States Department of Justice, acting at EPA’s request, files a federal CERCLA lawsuit against ABB seeking $471,405+ in cost recovery, injunctive relief, and a declaratory judgment for all future cleanup costs.
💬 Direct Quotes from the Legal Record
QUOTE 1
Contamination confirmed in multiple environmental pathways
Core Allegations
“AMD accelerated the mobilization and leaching of naturally occurring metals in soil to groundwater, resulting in elevated concentrations of metals, particularly cobalt and manganese, above Regional Screening Levels and normal background levels.”
💡 This is the government’s own scientific finding: ABB’s land is actively spreading hazardous metals into the groundwater that rural families drink. This is not a technicality; it is a documented public health crisis.
QUOTE 2
ABB retained all environmental liability by contract
Corporate Accountability Failures
“Alstom Power purchased the assets of Combustion Engineering from ABB, but ABB retained all of the company’s environmental liability, including liability associated with the Site.”
💡 ABB made a deliberate legal choice to keep this liability. This was not an accident or an oversight. ABB knew about the contamination and structured a transaction that kept the assets with a buyer while keeping the environmental debt on its own books.
QUOTE 3
Taxpayers already absorbing costs ABB refuses to pay
Corporate Accountability Failures
“Through the date of filing of this complaint, the United States has incurred at least $471,405 in unreimbursed response costs within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. § 9601(25) for actions taken in response to the release or threat of release of hazardous substances at the Site.”
💡 The word “unreimbursed” is critical. ABB has not voluntarily paid these costs. US taxpayers have been subsidizing ABB’s cleanup, and the government had to sue to recover the money.
QUOTE 4
Site surrounded by residential communities in a rural area
Community Impact
“The Site is surrounded by residential uses in a rural area.”
💡 This short phrase carries enormous weight. The people bearing the consequences of ABB’s contamination are not an anonymous abstraction; they are rural families living next to a toxic mine, with limited resources and alternatives.
QUOTE 5
Surface water contamination confirmed in multiple tributaries
Public Health and Safety
“AMD affected surface water in several tributaries at the Site.”
💡 The contamination does not stay in the ground. It flows into local waterways, expanding the zone of harm beyond the immediate mine site and into the broader ecosystem used by the community.
QUOTE 6
ABB supplies bottled water, confirming well water is undrinkable
Public Health and Safety
“ABB also supplies bottled potable water to certain residents within the area of impacted groundwater who have chosen not to have wellhead treatment systems installed or have abandoned their wells.”
💡 When a corporation is handing out bottled water because residents have “abandoned their wells,” that is an admission that the groundwater supply has been destroyed. This community no longer has reliable access to clean water from the earth beneath their homes.
QUOTE 7
EPA determined an imminent and substantial endangerment exists
Public Health and Safety
“EPA determined that the response actions are necessary to abate a danger or threat with respect to groundwater and surface water contamination at the Site.”
💡 The EPA’s language of “danger or threat” carries legal meaning under CERCLA. This is the federal government’s formal determination that the contamination poses a real and present danger to human health. ABB has known this for years and still required a lawsuit to compel action.
💬 Commentary
How did ABB become responsible for contamination from a mine that was operated before the company existed?
▾
ABB purchased Combustion Engineering in 1990. Combustion Engineering was the corporate successor to Commercial Ores, which operated the mine from 1947 to 1970. When ABB later sold Combustion Engineering to Alstom Power, ABB specifically chose to retain all environmental liabilities, including those associated with the Henry’s Knob site. This was a deliberate legal and business decision. ABB is not an innocent bystander; it walked into this liability with full knowledge of what it was accepting, and then structured a subsequent transaction to protect its assets while keeping the environmental debt.
Why are cobalt and manganese in drinking water dangerous?
▾
Both cobalt and manganese are classified as hazardous substances under federal law. Manganese at elevated levels in drinking water is associated with neurological effects, particularly in children, including impaired cognitive development and reduced IQ. Chronic cobalt exposure can affect the heart, thyroid, and nervous system. These are not trace amounts of naturally occurring minerals; the complaint confirms concentrations above Regional Screening Levels and normal background levels, meaning the contamination poses a documented human health risk.
Is this lawsuit legitimate, or is it an overreach by the government?
▾
This lawsuit is grounded in one of the most well-established federal environmental statutes, CERCLA, enacted in 1980 specifically to hold polluters accountable for contamination they caused or inherited. ABB’s legal liability here is straightforward: it is the current property owner and the legal successor to the entity that operated the mine. The law is clear, and ABB contractually acknowledged its environmental responsibilities when it retained this liability during the sale of Combustion Engineering. The lawsuit does not represent overreach; it represents the government attempting to recover costs that ABB has refused to voluntarily pay for years.
Why has it taken over 50 years for this to reach federal court?
▾
This is a pattern, not an exception. Corporate environmental contamination cases routinely span decades because the legal and administrative processes are complex, companies have every financial incentive to delay, and the communities most harmed often lack the political and economic power to force rapid action. ABB entered a voluntary administrative agreement with EPA in 2004, conducted studies over many years, and submitted key documents on timelines that stretched the process by years at a time. Meanwhile, the families of Clover, South Carolina were drinking water from wells that had to be treated or abandoned. Delay itself is a form of harm.
Who is ABB, and how big is this company?
▾
ABB, Inc. is a subsidiary of ABB Ltd., a Swiss-Swedish multinational corporation headquartered in Zurich, Switzerland. ABB Ltd. is one of the largest industrial conglomerates in the world, specializing in electrification, automation, and robotics with operations in more than 100 countries and annual revenues in the tens of billions of dollars. This is not a small company struggling to pay for cleanup. This is a global corporate giant with the financial resources to fully remediate this site many times over. The $471,405 it refuses to reimburse to taxpayers represents an infinitesimally small fraction of its annual revenue. The failure to pay is a choice, not a necessity.
What has ABB actually done to address the contamination?
▾
ABB has taken some required steps: it conducted the EPA-ordered Remedial Investigation, installed wellhead treatment systems at 30 homes, supplies bottled water to some residents, installed a fence around the mine pit pond, built check dams to limit tailings erosion, and submitted a Feasibility Study. However, these actions were not voluntary; they were required under EPA orders. A final cleanup remedy has still not been selected. The US government has absorbed over $471,000 in costs that ABB has not reimbursed, and a federal lawsuit was necessary to compel further action. Doing the legal minimum, on a slow timeline, while taxpayers absorb costs, is not accountability.
What is the connection between this case and environmental justice?
▾
The Henry’s Knob site sits in a rural area of York County, South Carolina, surrounded by residential communities. Rural, lower-income communities in the South have disproportionately borne the environmental costs of industrial activity throughout American history. These are communities with fewer resources to pursue legal remedies, less political representation to accelerate enforcement, and greater dependence on local groundwater because they often lack access to municipal water systems. When a multinational corporation leaves its contaminated property to leach poison into the private wells of rural families for decades, and only acts under legal compulsion, that is environmental injustice in its most concrete form.
What can I do to prevent this from happening again?
▾
There are concrete actions available at every level. Contact your US Senators and Representative and demand stronger CERCLA enforcement, increased Superfund funding, and mandatory timelines for corporate polluters. Support environmental justice organizations working in South Carolina and similar communities, such as the NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Program and Earthjustice. Advocate for stricter liability rules that prevent corporations from using asset sales to escape environmental obligations. At the local level, support candidates who prioritize environmental enforcement and oppose weakening the EPA. Share this case publicly so more people understand that this pattern of corporate pollution and delayed accountability is not rare; it is structural, and it will continue until the political and financial costs of delay exceed the costs of cleanup.
The federal registrar notice can be found on the DOJ’s website about this case: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR-2026-03-24/pdf/2026-05674.pdf
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