[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 93 (Wednesday, May 14, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 26555]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-12565]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Extension of Public Comment Period for Lodging of 
Consent Decree Pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation and Liability Act

    Notice is hereby given that the public comment period is being 
extended for 15 days to allow comment on the proposed Consent Decree in 
United States v. Conoco Inc., Civ. No. 97-0445, that was lodged on 
March 6, 1997 with the United States District Court for the Western 
District of Louisiana. The original Federal Register notice was 
published on April 8, 1997.
    The parties to the Decree are Conoco Inc. (``Conoco'') and the 
relevant natural resource trustees: the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration; the Department of the Interior, and the 
State of Louisiana through the Louisiana Department of Environmental 
Quality, the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, and the 
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources. Under the terms of the 
Decree, Conoco agrees to implement and fund a restoration-based 
settlement as compensation for natural resource damages suffered as a 
result of a March, 1994 release of 1,2 dichloroethane (``EDC'') from 
Conoco's facility in Westlake, Louisiana. The claim being settled arise 
under Section 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9607.
    Conteporaneously with lodging the Consent Decree, the United States 
and the State of Louisiana jointly filed a complaint alleging that 
Conoco is an owner or operator of the facility that released the EDC 
within the meaning of Sections 107(a)(1) and 107(a)(2) of the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. Secs. 9607(a)(1) and 9607(a)(2).
    The Department of Justice will receive, for an additional fifteen 
(15) days from the date of this publication, comments relating to the 
proposed Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530, and should refer to 
United States v. Conoco, DOJ Reference Number 90-11-3-1655.
    The proposed Consent Decree my be examined at the Consent Decree 
Library, 1120 G street, NW., 4th Floor, Washington, DC 20005, (202) 
624-0892. A copy of the proposed Consent Decree may be obtained in 
person or by mail from the Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street, NW., 
4th Floor, Washington, DC 20005. In requesting a copy please refer to 
the referenced case and enclose a check in the amount of $21.75 (25 
cents per page reproduction costs), payable to the Consent Decree 
Library.
Joel Gross,
Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 97-12565 Filed 5-13-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M