[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 206 (Tuesday, October 24, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 63624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-27312]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    Pursuant to Section 122(d)(2) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 
9622(d)(2), and 28 CFR 50.7, notice is hereby given that a proposed 
consent decree embodying a settlement in United States v. Iron Mountain 
Mines, Inc., et al., No. CIV S-91-0768 DFL/JFM, was lodged on October 
19, 2000, with the United States District Court for the Eastern 
District of California.
    In a consolidated action, the United States and the State of 
California seek reimbursement of response costs incurred by the United 
States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') and by the California 
Department of Toxic Substances Control (``DTSC'') and the California 
Regional Water Quality Control Board for the Central Valley Region 
(``RWQCB''), pursuant to Section 107 of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9607, in 
response to release of hazardous substances at the Iron Mountain Mine 
Superfund Site in Northern California (``Site'').
    Under the proposed consent decree, the settling parties have agreed 
to fund future response actions at the Site. Future work includes, 
among other things, operation and maintenance of the remedial actions 
selected in the four Records of Decision issued to date by EPA. These 
activities principally involve maintenance of the collection, 
conveyance, and treatment systems designed to address discharges of 
acid mine drainage from the Site, as well as certain additional 
activities. Operation and maintenance of the remedial actions will be 
conducted by a site operator, which is a signatory to the consent 
decree, with funding provided through a structured settlement with the 
settling parties. The structured settlement provides, through an 
insurance vehicle, coverages totaling approximately $337 million for 
the first thirty years of Site activities, together with a balloon 
payment of approximately $514 million after the thirtieth year, from 
which the federal or State of California government may fund future 
activities. The settlement also provides $11 million for natural 
resource damage restoration activities, to be administered by the 
natural resources trustees for the Site, which include the U.S. Fish & 
Wildlife Service, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, the U.S. Bureau of 
Land Management, the National Park Service, the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration, and the California Department of Fish and 
Game.
    The Department of Justice will receive, until November 13, 2000, 
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, Box 7611 Ben 
Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044-7611, and should refer to 
United States v. Iron Mountain Mines, Inc., et al., DOJ Ref. #90-11-3-
196A. Commenters may request a public hearing in the affected area, 
pursuant to Section 7003(d) of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. 6973(d).
    The proposed consent decree may be examined at the EPA Region 9 
Superfund Records Center, 75 Hawthorne Street, Fourth Floor, San 
Francisco, California 94105, and at the Office of the United States 
Attorney for the Eastern District of California, 501 ``I'' Street, 
Suite 10-100, Sacramento, California 95814. A copy of the proposed 
consent decree may be also be obtained by mail from the Department of 
Justice Consent Decree Library, Box 7611, Ben Franklin Station, 
Washington, D.C. 20044-7611. In requesting a copy, please refer to the 
referenced case and enclose a check in the amount of $231.75 (25 cents 
per page reproduction costs), payable to the Consent Decree Library. A 
copy of the decree, exclusive of the parties' signature pages and the 
attachments, may be obtained for $21.50.

Bruce Gelber,
Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural 
Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 00-27312 Filed 10-19-00; 4:52 pm]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M