GM Shell Company Agrees to Set Up $773 Million Trust to Clean Up Abandoned Properties

The United States has reached an agreement with the Motors Liquidation Co — the part of General Motors that split off during bankruptcy and holds the company’s unwanted assets — to establish a trust to clean up 89 sites (many of which contain hazardous materials) that were abandoned when the auto company declared bankruptcy.

Under the agreement, which also involved 14 states and one tribal government, the company agreed to set aside $773 million to clean up the sites. According to the White House, the agreement will “give local communities the opportunity to participate in designing the strategy for repurposing these properties in accordance with their specific development objectives, using these funds to both properly clean them up and quickly return them to productive use creating jobs and restoring communities.”