[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 117 (Thursday, June 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 33395]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-16215]



[[Page 33395]]

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    This Notice amends a Notice previously published at 63 FR 29751-
29752 (Wed., Jun. 1, 1998), announcing that a proposed consent decree 
was lodged on April 21, 1998 with the United States District Court for 
the Eastern District of California. The Consent Decree embodies a 
settlement in United States v. Chevron USA, Inc., et al., Civil Action 
No. F-98-5412 REC DLB. This Notice makes technical corrections to the 
description of the work to be performed under the Consent Decree.
    In the complaint filed concurrently with the lodging of the consent 
decree, the United States sought injunctive relief for performance of 
response actions, and reimbursement for response costs incurred by the 
United States Environmental Protection Agency, in response to releases 
of hazardous substances at the Purity Oil Sales Superfund Site, located 
near Fresno, California, pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 
Sec. 9601 et seq. The settling defendants have agreed to contribute 
towards performance of future response actions at the Purity Site; 
defendant Chevron USA Inc. has agreed to perform that work. Future work 
includes operation and maintenance of the groundwater extraction and 
treatment system for the groundwater operable unit (estimated to cost 
$10 million) and construction, operation, and maintenance of the 
components of the soils operable unit (estimated to cost between $10 
and 12 million). The soils operable unit may include treatment of soils 
at a depth of 14 to 40 feet with a soil vapor extraction system pending 
a two-year soil vapor monitoring program, construction of a cap, and 
enclosure of an on-site canal in a reinforced concrete pipe.
    The consent decree includes a covenant not to sue under Sections 
106 and 107 of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. Secs. 9606, 9607, and under Section 
7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (``RCRA''), 42 
U.S.C. Sec. 6973.
    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, 
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530, and should refer to 
United States v. Chevron USA Inc., DOJ Ref. #90-11-2-355. Commenters 
may request a public hearing in the affected area, pursuant to Section 
7003(d) of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 6973(d).
    The proposed consent decree may be examined at the office of the 
United States Attorney, Eastern District of California, Room 3654 
Federal Building, 1130 ``O'' Street, Fresno, California 93721; the 
Region IX Office of the Environmental Protection Agency, 75 Hawthorne 
Street, San Francisco, California 94105; 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 $116.50 (25 cents per page reproduction costs), payable to the 
Consent Decree Library. A copy of the decree, exclusive of signature 
pages and attachments, may be obtained for $21.50.
Joel Gross,
Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural 
Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 98-16215 Filed 6-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M