[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 181 (Friday, September 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 49926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-24989]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decrees Under CERCLA and the Clean 
Water Act

    Under 28 CFR Sec. 50.7, notice is hereby given that on August 6, 
1996, the United States lodged with the United States District Court 
for the Northern District of Indiana two proposed, related Consent 
Decrees, the first in United States v. USX Corporation, Civil Action 
No. 2:98CV 465JM (the ``CWA Action'') and the second in United States 
and The State of Indiana v. USX Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:98CV 
464RL (the ``NRD Action'').
    In the CWA Action, the United States asserted claims against USX 
Corporation (``USX'') under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et 
seq.. In the separate NRD Action, the United States and the State of 
Indiana asserted natural resource damages (``NRD'') claims against USX 
under the NRD provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq., the Clean 
Water Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq., and the Oil Pollution Act, 33 
U.S.C. Sec. 2701 et seq. The claims in both actions relate to USX's 
Gary Works steel-making facility in Gary, Indiana and are based on 
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (``NPDES'') permit 
violations, unpermitted pollutant discharges, and releases of oil and 
hazardous substances from Gary Works to the East Branch of the Grand 
Calumet River (``EBGCR'').
    The proposed CWA Action consent decree, if entered by the Court, 
will resolve the claims in that action and provide for relief 
including: (i) sediment remediation through dredging and proper 
disposal of contaminated sediments currently located in a five-mile 
stretch of the EBGCR adjacent to and downriver from Gary Works; (ii) 
the implementation of NPDES compliance programs to identify and stop 
the sources of permit violations and unpermitted discharges; and (iii) 
the payment by USX of $1.8 million in civil penalties, plus $1.1 
million in stipulated penalties under a prior, 1990 Consent Decree 
relating to Gary Works.
    The proposed NRD Action consent decree, if entered by the Court, 
will resolve the claims in the NRD action and require USX, in addition 
to implementing the sediment remediation project described above: (i) 
to clean up the surface of, and to convey to the United States and the 
State of Indiana, more than 214 acres, in the aggregate, of undeveloped 
property, including globally-rare dune and swale habitat, as 
compensation for lost uses of natural resources; (ii) to restore and 
protect 32 additional acres as wetlands, as compensation for wetlands 
that will be lost during dredging; (iii) to pay the United States' and 
the State's assessment costs (approximately $570,000); and (iv) to pay 
$1 million into an escrow account to pay for post-dredging monitoring 
of the EBGCR.
    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 Decrees. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530, and should refer to 
United States v. USX Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:98CV 465JM and 
United States and The State of Indiana v. USX Corporation, Civil Action 
No. 2:98CV 464RL, D.J. Ref. 90-5-1-1-3111A and 90-5-1-1-3111/1.
    The Consent Decrees may be examined at the Office of the United 
States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, 1001 Main Street, 
Suite A, Dyer, Indiana 46311; at the Environmental Protection Agency 
Library, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604; and at the 
Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street. N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, 
D.C. 20005, 202-624-0892. Copies of the Consent Decrees may be obtained 
in person or by mail from the Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street, 
N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005. In requesting copies, please 
enclose a check payable to the Consent Decree Library, for the 25 cent 
per page reproduction costs, in the amount of: $42.25 for the CWA 
Action Consent Decree; $24.50 for the NRD Action Consent Decree; or 
$66.75 for both.
Joel M. Gross,
Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural 
Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 98-24989 Filed 9-17-98; 8:45 am]
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