[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 234 (Tuesday, December 7, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68352-68353]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-31664]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6504-2]

42 U.S.C. 122(I)


Proposed Prospective Purchaser Agreement and Covenant Not To Sue

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; proposal of prospective purchaser agreement and 
covenant not to sue under CERCLA section 9601 et seq., as amended, for 
the Circle Smelting Corporation Superfund Site.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: U.S. EPA is proposing to execute a Prospective Purchaser 
Agreement and Covenant Not to Sue (Agreement) under CERCLA section 9601 
et seq., as amended, for the Circle Smelting Corporation Superfund 
Site. The Prospective Purchaser has agreed to the reuse and 
redevelopment of the property, thereby creating jobs and economic 
growth as well as preventing the Site from remaining abandoned, and in 
return will receive a covenant not to sue and contribution protection 
from EPA. EPA today is proposing to execute this Agreement because it 
achieves a benefit for the community where the site is located by 
encouraging the reuse or redevelopment of property at which the fear of 
Superfund liability may have been a barrier. The Circle Smelting Site 
would likely have remained an abandoned lot had EPA not entered into 
this Prospective Purchaser Agreement and Covenant Not to Sue with the 
Prospective Purchasers. Therefore, this Agreement provides for the 
reuse and redevelopment of the Site, thereby fulfilling EPA's 
Brownfields initiatives and priorities.

DATES: Comments on this proposed settlement must be received on or 
before January 6, 2000.

ADDRESSES: A copy of the proposed Agreement is available for review at 
U.S. EPA, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. 
Please contact Ms. Allison S. Gassner at (312) 886-2250, prior to 
visiting the Region 5 office.
    Comments on the proposed Agreement should be addressed to Allison 
S. Gassner, Office of Regional Counsel, U.S. EPA, Region 5, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard (Mail Code C-14J), Chicago, Illinois 60604.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Allison S. Gassner at (312) 886-2250, 
of the U.S. EPA, Region 5, Office of Regional Counsel.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Circle Smelting Corporation Site is 
located on

[[Page 68353]]

a 28-acre parcel of land situated along Illinois State Highway 50 in 
the northeast corner of the Village of Beckemeyer, Clinton County, 
Illinois. The Site was originally constructed as a primary zinc smelter 
in 1904 and was later converted into a secondary zinc smelter in 1920. 
The Site also includes areas, such as walkway paths and residential 
driveways, in the Village of Beckemeyer where hazardous substances came 
to be located due to smelter operations disposal. Cinders from the 
smelter were also used in certain areas within the Village as a surface 
material for walking paths, driveways, and alleys.
    Asarco, Inc., entered into an agreement with EPA in 1997 to clean 
up the former smelter property and the effected residential areas. 
Under the 1997 Administrative Order on Consent, Asarco, Inc., is 
required to investigate the nature and extent of the hazardous 
substances from the former smelter operations and to remove those 
hazardous substances that exceed EPA's standards. The Administrative 
Order on Consent requires Asarco, Inc., to remediate the former smelter 
property to levels suitable for commercial use. Asarco, Inc., began 
cleanup activities in Fall of 1998. Future cleanup work at the smelter 
property will include demolishing the remnants of the furnaces, 
clearing the remaining buildings, and consolidating these materials in 
a capped repository that will be constructed on a portion of the 
property. The stockpiled yard, soil, and slag waste remaining on the 
property will also be consolidated and moved to the repository. The 
remainder of the site will then be graded and paved with a concrete 
barrier and a new driveway will be constructed connecting the property 
to Highway 50.
    In exchange for completing the activities described the Prospective 
Purchaser Agreement, Asarco, Inc. will transfer title of a portion of 
the Site property to LEAR Enterprises, LLC. LEAR Enterprises, LLC 
(``LEAR''), is a corporation duly registered in the State of Illinois 
located at 451 West First Street, Beckemeyer, Illinois. Virgil Holthaus 
is the Manager of LEAR and is the President of Holthaus Truck Service, 
Inc. (``Holthaus Truck''). LEAR will lease to Holthaus Truck the 
portions of the Site to which LEAR takes title. Virgil Holthaus and a 
wholly owned company which he formed to take ownership of the Site, 
LEAR Enterprises, LLC, have executed the proposed Prospective Purchaser 
Agreement.
    LEAR intends to acquire a majority portion of the Site in exchange 
for Holthaus Truck conducting 95% of the interim remedial actions at 
the Property. The remedial action is mandated in the Administrative 
Order on Consent entered into between the United States and Asarco, 
Inc., the current owner of the Site. Holthaus Truck is a heavy-haul 
trucking service that will redevelop the property for vehicle 
maintenance and parking, creating lime slurry for resale to local 
industry, and possible future warehousing activity. Holthaus Truck 
employs approximately fifteen individuals and expects that after 
redevelopment it will expand its operations and possibly create more 
jobs for the community.
    The Prospective Purchaser's use of the Site is for limited 
activities that will not aggravate or contribute to the existing 
contamination, will not interfere with the remedy approved by EPA, and 
will not pose a health risk to the community. The Prospective Purchaser 
is financially viable and capable of fulfilling all obligations under 
this Prospective Purchaser Agreement. As part of the remedial 
activities on the Site, Asarco, Inc., will construct a soil repository 
on the Site and Settling Respondents will indefinitely maintain the 
fence and any necessary vegetation control for the soil repository. The 
Prospective Purchaser has had no involvement with the Site prior to 
this proposed purchase.
    The Settling Parties are purchasers of the property who intend to 
reuse, redevelop, and resell the property.
    A 30-day period, commencing on the date of publication of this 
document, is open for comments on the proposed Agreement pursuant to 
section 122(I) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9622(I). Comments should be sent to 
the addressee identified in this document.
William E. Muno,
Director, Superfund Division, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 99-31664 Filed 12-6-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P