[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 163 (Thursday, August 22, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 54463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-21369]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    In accordance with Departmental policy and 28 CFR 50.7, notice is 
hereby given that a Consent Decree in United States v. Occidental Chem. 
Corp., Civ. A. No. 4:CV-98-0686, was lodged on August 2, 2002, with the 
United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
    In this action, the United States sought recovery of past and 
future response costs under section 107 of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (``CERCLA''), 
42 U.S.C. 9607, the imposition of a civil penalty under Section 106 of 
CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9606, due to Occidental Chemical Corporation's 
(``Occidental'') failure to comply with EPA's 1997 Unilateral 
Administrative Order (``UAO''), Docket No. III-97-79-DC, and injunctive 
relief requiring Occidental to comply with the UAO in the future. Under 
the Consent Decree, Occidental will pay the United States $561,000 for 
past and future response costs incurred or to be incurred in connection 
with the clean-up of the Centre County Kepone Superfund Site (``the 
Site''), located in State College, Centre County, Pennsylvania.
    Furthermore, in order to fulfill its obligations under the UAO, 
which directed Occidental to ``participate and cooperate'' in 
performing the response actions at Operable Unit #1 (``OU-1'') of the 
Site with Ruetgers Organics Corporation (``ROC''), Occidental will make 
a good faith offer to ROC of at least $220,000 as its appropriate share 
of the response actions to be performed under the UAO. If ROC rejects 
Occidental's good faith offer, Occidental will instead pay $220,000 to 
the EPA Hazardous Substance Superfund in reimbursement for response 
costs incurred in connection with OU-1 at the Site.
    Finally, to resolve its failure to comply with the UAO, Occidental 
will pay a civil penalty of $21,000 and perform a Supplemental 
Environmental Project (``SEPP''), involving the acquisition of an 
environmental easement, the Hartle Farm, at a cost of at least $84,000.
    The Department of Justice will receive, for a period of not less 
than 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, Environment and Natural Resources 
Division, Department of Justice, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044-
7611, and should refer to United States v. Occidental Chem. Corp. 
(4:CV-98-0686), DOJ Ref. #90-11-3-1436A.
    The Consent Decree may be examined at the Office of the United 
States Attorney, 228 Walnut Street, Room 220, Harrisburg, PA 17108, and 
at the Region III Office of the Environmental Protection agency, 1650 
Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. A copy of the proposed 
Consent Decree may be obtained by mail from the Consent Decree Library, 
Department of Justice, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044-7611, or by 
faxing a request to Tonia Fleetwood at (202) 514-0097 [Phone 
confirmation number (202) 514-1547]. In requesting a copy from the 
Consent Decree Library, please refer to the referenced case and enclose 
a check in the amount of $10.25 (25 cents per page reproduction cost), 
payable to the United States Treasury.

Robert Brook,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division, Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 02-21369 Filed 8-21-02; 8:45 am]
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