GM sets up cleanup trust fund

WASHINGTON, Oct. 21 (UPI) -- General Motors Corp. agreed to set up a $773 million trust fund to clean up hazardous waste from 89 bankrupt properties, the White House announced.

The White House said the former company now known as GM's Motor's Liquidation Co., an entity created after GM declared bankruptcy, agreed with 14 states and a tribal government to set up the trust fund to cleanup properties shuttered in the bankruptcy.

"This kind of environmental trust is unprecedented in size, speed of settlement and level of local involvement," the White House statement read.

The bulk of the funds, about $430 million, is reserved for state cleanup activities, with a smaller portion set aside to handle any "unforeseen" environmental conditions.

The White House said the fund gives states and the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe the opportunity to return the properties to productive use.

"This trust -- the largest environmental trust in our history -- provides support for aggressive environmental cleanups at these sites, which will create jobs today and benefit the environment and human health over the long-term," Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson said in a statement.