[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 51 (Thursday, March 14, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10597-10598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6040]



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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Notice of Lodging of Amended Consent Decree Pursuant to the Clean 
Water Act

    In accordance with Departmental policy, 28 C.F.R. Sec. 50.7, 38 
Fed. Reg. 19029, notice is hereby given that on March 1, 1996, a 
proposed Amended Consent Decree in United States v. Crown Paper Co. and 
James River Paper Company, Inc., Civil Action No. 95-258-SD, was lodged 
with the United States District Court for the District of New Hampshire 
resolving the matters alleged in a complaint filed on May 16, 1995. The 
proposed Amended Consent Decree concerns alleged violations by James 
River of Sections 309 (b) and (d) of the Clean Water ACt (``CWA''), 33 
U.S.C. Secs. 1319 (b) and (d), Sections 3008 (a) and (g) of the 
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (``RCRA''), 42 U.S.C. Secs. 6928 
(a) and (g), Section 109(c) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 
Sec. 6909(c), and Section 325(b)(3) of the Emergency Planning and 
Community Right-to-Know Act (``EPCRA''), 42 U.S.C. 11045(b)(3), at pulp 
and paper mills operated by James River in Gorham and Berlin, New 
Hampshire.
    The CWA violations alleged in the complaint include: violations of 
the federal pretreatment standards and National Prohibited Discharge 
Standard; the unauthorized discharge of pollutants without a permit; 
and the discharge of pollutants in excess of levels allowed under a 
permit. The RCRA violation alleged in the complaint includes the 
disposal of hazardous waste without a permit. Finally, the CERCLA and 
EPCRA violations alleged in the complaint include the failure to timely 
report the spill of sulfuric acid at the pulp mill.

[[Page 10598]]

    Under the terms of the Amended Consent Decree, the defendants will 
pay a civil penalty of $200,000 to the United States and will be 
required to comply with the Clean Water Act. In addition, the 
defendants will be required to install equipment at the pulp mill 
necessary to reduce certain sulfur emissions from wastewater effluent 
and to perform a assessment of their compliance with the Clean Water 
Act's prohibition on unpermitted discharges.
    The Department of Justice will receive, for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication comments relating to the 
proposed Amended Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530, and should refer to 
United States v. Crown Paper Co. and James River Paper Company, D.J. 
Ref. 90-5-1-1-4123.
    The proposed Amended Consent Decree may be examines at the Region I 
Office of the Environmental Protection Agency, One Congress Street, 
Boston, Massachusetts, and at the office of the United States Attorney, 
District of New Hampshire, 55 Pleasant Street, Concord, New Hampshire, 
c/o Gretchen L. Witt, Assistant U.S. Attorney. Copies of the proposed 
Amended Consent Decree may also be examined at the Consent Decree 
Library, 1120 G. Street, N.W., 4th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005, (202) 
624-0892. A copy of the proposed Amended Consent Decree may be obtained 
in person or by mail from the Consent Decree Library. In requesting a 
copy, please refer to the referenced case and enclose a check in the 
amount of $5.75 (25 cents per page reproduction cost) made payable to 
Consent Decree Library.
Joel M. Gross,
Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural 
Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 96-6040 Filed 3-13-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-01-M