[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 153 (Friday, August 8, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42791-42792]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-20978]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5871-7]


De Minimis Settlement Under Section 122(g) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 
(CERCLA), as amended, Peerless Industrial Paint Coatings Site, City of 
St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri; Notice of Request for Public 
Comment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has entered into a 
de minimis administrative settlement to resolve claims under the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 
1980 (CERCLA), as amended, 42 U.S.C. 9622(g). The settlement is 
intended to resolve the liability of Westinghouse Electric Corporation 
(Westinghouse) for the response costs incurred and to be incurred at 
the Peerless Industrial Paint Coatings Site, City of St. Louis, St. 
Louis County, Missouri.

DATES: Written comments must be provided on or before September 8, 
1997.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to the Regional Administrator, 
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region VII, 726 
Minnesota Avenue, Kansas City, Kansas 66101 and should refer to: In the 
Matter of the Peerless Industrial Paint Coatings Superfund Site, City 
of St. Louis, St. Louis County, Missouri, EPA Docket Nos. VII-97-F-
0001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Denise L. Roberts, Assistant Regional Counsel, United States 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region VII, 726 Minnesota Avenue, 
Kansas City, Kansas 66101, (913) 551-7559.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Westinghouse Electric Corporation 
(``Westinghouse'' or de minimis party''), the settling party, is a de 
minimis generator of hazardous substances found at the Peerless 
Industrial Paint Coatings Site, which is the subject Superfund Site. On 
April 21, 1997, Region VII entered into a de minimis administrative 
settlement to resolve claims under Section 122(g) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 
9622(g).
    The Peerless Industrial Paint Coatings Site (the ``Site'') is 
located in St. Louis at 1265 Lewis Street, St. Louis, Missouri, 
approximately \1/4\ mile north of downtown St. Louis in an industrial 
section of the city. The de minimis party, Westinghouse, is a 
corporation that operated a facility in Manor, Pennsylvania from 1937 
until July 1995 which manufactures and sells paints and resins to 
commercial customers. Westinghouse sold polyester resins and alkyds to 
Peerless Industrial Paint Coatings (``Peerless''), a St. Louis 
corporation, at very low prices. Westinghouse admitted that it sold 
secondary coatings or materials to Peerless at very low prices, which 
were less than the costs of disposal for hazardous wastes at an 
authorized permitted facility. Peerless was a manufacturer of paints 
and magazine coatings that purchased large quantities of paint 
materials at low prices and accumulated more materials on-site than 
could be used. In June 1993, the EPA began a removal action at the 
site. Approximately 3500 drums of hazardous substances that 
demonstrated the characteristic of ignitability were removed from the 
facility at the cost of $1,089,062.71.
    The settlement has been approved by the U.S. Department of Justice 
because the response costs in this matter exceed $500,000.00. The EPA 
estimates the total past and future costs will be approximately 
$1,342,357.05. Pursuant to the Administrative Order on Consent, the de 
minimis party is responsible for its attributable share of 1.71 percent 
of the hazardous substances removed from the Site. Westinghouse had 
agreed to pay a total of $27,920.07 which is further detailed as 
follows: $17,720.07 is its attributable share of past costs, $5,100.00 
is its attributable share of anticipated future costs; and $5,100.00 is 
a premium of 100% for future cost overruns. The EPA determined these 
amounts to be the de minimis party's fair share of liability based on 
the amount of hazardous substances found at the Site and contributed by 
the settling party. The settlement includes contribution protection 
from lawsuits by other potentially responsible parties as provided for 
under section 122(g)(5) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9622(g)(5).
    The de minimis settlement provides that the EPA covenants not to 
sue the de minimis party for response costs at the Site or for 
injunctive relief pursuant to Sections 106 and 107 of CERCLA and 
section 7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1980, as 
amended (RCRA), 42 U.S.C. 6973. The settlement contains a reopener 
clause which nullifies the covenant not to sue if any information 
becomes known to the EPA that indicates that the parties no longer meet 
the criteria for a

[[Page 42792]]

de minimis settlement set forth in Section 122(g)(1)(A) of CERCLA, 42 
U.S.C. 9622(g)(1)(A). The covenant not to sue does not apply to the 
following matters:
    (a) Liability for failure to meet a requirement of the 
Administrative Order on Consent;
    (b) Liability resulting from any future arrangement for disposal or 
treatment of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant at the 
Site after the effective date of the Administrative Order on Consent;
    (c) Criminal liability; or
    (d) Liability for damages or injury to, destruction of, or loss of 
the natural resources.
    The de minimis settlement will become effective upon the date which 
the EPA issues a written notice to the party that the statutory public 
comment period has closed and that comments received, if any, do not 
require modification of or EPA withdrawal from the settlement.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator.
[FR Doc. 97-20978 Filed 8-7-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-M