[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 110 (Monday, June 9, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Page 31455]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-14931]



[[Page 31455]]

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Pursuant to the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

    In accordance with Departmental policy, 28 CFR 50.7, notice is 
hereby given that a proposed consent decree in United States, et al. v. 
State of Washington Through the Washington Department of Natural 
Resources, Civil Action No. C97-5337 RJB, was lodged on may 28, 1997, 
with the United States District Court for the Western District of 
Washington. The proposed consent decree settles claims for natural 
resource damages in the Commencement Bay Environment in and adjacent to 
Tacoma, Washington, asserted by the United States on behalf of the 
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the U.S. Department 
of Commerce and the U.S. Department of the Interior; the State of 
Washington; the Puyallup Tribe of Indians; and the Muckleshoot Indian 
Tribe (the Natural Resource Trustees). The Defendant State of 
Washington owns certain areas of aquatic lands in the Commencement Bay 
Environment. The Washington Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) is 
the agency charged by state law with primary responsibility for 
leasing, managing, and otherwise exercising the State of Washington's 
proprietary interest in State-owned aquatic lands in the Commencement 
Bay Environment.
    The complaint asserts a claim by the United States and the state 
and tribal trustees under Section 107 of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended 
(CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9607, for damages to natural resources in the 
Commencement Bay Environment, as well as a claim by the State of 
Washington as Plantiff for natural resource damages under the 
Washington Model Toxics Control Act. The Complaint seeks an order that 
the Defendant pay damages for the injury to, destruction, and/or loss 
of use of natural resources within the Commencement Bay Environment 
resulting from releases of hazardous substances at or from Defendant's 
land, and an order that Defendant reimburse Plaintiffs for costs they 
have incurred in their assessment of damages. The claims do not include 
the St. Paul Waterway Problem Area, a subunit of the Commencement Bay 
Environment, that was the subject of a previous settlement with WDNR.
    Under the proposed Consent Decree, the State through WDNR will make 
available three parcels of aquatic lands (approximately 8.3 acres 
total) in Commencement Bay for habitat restoration projects to be 
designed and developed in cooperation with the Trustees, will provide 
in-kind services to assist the Trustees in developing the restoration 
projects, and will consult with the Trustees to avoid potential harmful 
impacts from WDNR activities that the Trustees have determined may be 
detrimental to Commencement Bay Environment natural resources. In 
return, the Defendant will be granted a covenant not to sue by the 
Plaintiffs for liability for natural resources damages in the 
Commencement Bay Environment.
    The Department of Justice will receive, for a period of thirty (30) 
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, et al. v. State of Washington Through the Washington 
Department of Natural Resources, DOJ Ref. No. 90-11-2-1049B.
    The proposed consent decree may be examined at the office of the 
United States Attorney, 3600 Seafirst Fifth Avenue Plaza, 500 Fifth 
Avenue, Seattle, WA 98104; and at the Consent Decree Library, 1120 G 
Street, N.W., 4th Floor, Washington, D.C. 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, N.W., 4th Floor, 
Washington, D.C. 20005. In requesting a copy please refer to the 
referenced case and enclose a check in the amount of $9.00 (25 cents 
per page reproduction costs), payable to the Consent Decree Library.
Joel Gross,
Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural 
Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 97-14931 Filed 6-6-97; 8:45 am]
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