We Energies sues firm to help pay for cleanup

A We Energies affiliate is suing a Canadian company to force it to help pay for an environmental cleanup of the Komatsu Mining Corp. development site in Milwaukee’s Harbor District.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court, is targeting American Natural Resources Co., a subsidiary of TC Energy Corp., based in Calgary.

It says American Natural Resources, through various corporate predecessors, operated manufactured gas facilities for at least 35 years at the former Milwaukee Solvay Coke Co. property.

That roughly 45-acre property, south of East Greenfield Avenue and west of South First Street, is part of the 58-acre site of Komatsu Mining Corp.’s future corporate campus.

Komatsu last week bought the We Energies site for $7 million, according to state real estate records.

Komatsu also bought an adjacent 12acre site from the City of Milwaukee for $1.76 million.

The company is starting construction of its new headquarters, with completion of the project’s first phase set for mid-2022.

The lawsuit was filed by Wisconsin Gas LLC, a subsidiary of We Energies

owner WEC Energy Group Inc.

It says American Natural Resources in 2007 was named as a potentially responsible party by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for cleanup work at the Solvay site.

Wisconsin Gas, another potentially responsible party, in 2017 bought the site from the previous owner, which was bankrupt, and agreed to a cleanup plan.

Komatsu in 2018 announced plans to move its manufacturing operations, now based at 4400 W. National Ave., West Milwaukee, as well as corporate offices at Honey Creek Corporate Center, 135 S. 84th St., on Milwaukee’s far west side, to the Harbor District site.

With the cleanup work winding down, the Wisconsin Gas lawsuit claims American Natural Resources should pay for an unspecified portion of those costs.

Some of the hazardous substances that were removed from the site were released there during the company’s period of ownership, the suit said.

TC Energy Corp., which owns American Natural Resources, didn’t immediately respond Tuesday to a request for a response to the lawsuit.

KOMATSU MINING CORP. Komatsu Mining Corp.'s future Harbor District corporate campus will include a large office building.