[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 178 (Friday, September 13, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58051-58052]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-23366]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7376-1]


Notice of Proposed Administrative Order on Consent Pursuant to 
Section 122(h) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), Jasper County/Tri-State Mining 
Area Site, Operable Unit No. 1, Jasper County, MO, Docket No. CERCLA 
07-2002-0051

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of proposed administrative order on consent, Jasper 
County/Tri-State Mining Area Site, Operable Unit No. 1, Jasper County, 
Missouri.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of a proposed administrative order on 
consent for recovery of past and projected future response costs 
concerning the Jasper County/Tri-State Mining Area Site, Operable Unit 
No. 1, Jasper County, Missouri, with the following parties: E.I. DuPont 
de Nemours and Company, USX, Inc., and Kellogg Brown & Root, Inc. This 
proposed settlement was approved by the United States Department of 
Justice (DOJ) on July 28, 2002.

DATES: EPA will receive written comments relating to the proposed 
administrative order on consent by October 15, 2002. In addition, a 
public meeting may be requested pursuant to Section 7003 of RCRA.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to E. Jane Kloeckner, Senior 
Assistant Regional Counsel, United States Environmental Protection 
Agency, Region VII, 901 N. 5th Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101 and 
should refer to Jasper County/Tri-State Mining Area Site Administrative 
Order on Consent, Docket No. CERCLA-07-2002-0051.
    The proposed settlement may be examined or obtained in person or by 
mail from Kathy Robinson, Regional Hearing Clerk, at the office of the 
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region VII, 901 N. 5th 
Street, Kansas City, KS 66101, (913) 551-7567.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed agreement concerns the Jasper 
County Superfund Site (Site), Operable Unit No.1, located in Jasper 
County, Missouri. The Site is an abandoned, uncontrolled lead and zinc 
mining mega-site that contains nine million tons of surface mining 
wastes on about 5,000 acres located with 270 square miles.
    EPA has identified E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company; Kellogg 
Brown & Root, Inc.; and USX, Inc. (Settling Respondents) as three of 
ten viable potentially responsible parties (PRPs) at the Site. These 
parties are eligible for a peripheral party settlement based on their 
volume of mining wastes compared to the volume of site-wide wastes and 
the small amount of contamination that their wastes contribute to the 
site-wide risks. Each peripheral party produced less than two percent 
of the ore when compared to the identified PRPs and operated on-site 
for less than four years.
    This settlement requires the Settling Respondents to pay $818,349 
to EPA and $88,396 to the State of Missouri. The money will be paid to 
the Jasper County Site Special Account and used to implement the 
selected remedial action for the Jasper County Site, Operable Unit 
No.1, which will address

[[Page 58052]]

surface mining waste and ecological risks. The estimated costs for OU1 
are between $40,000,000 and $90,000,000. Past costs for OU1 are 
$900,000. Using the low end of the range, the government is recovering 
about 2% of the total costs for OU1. Seven other viable PRPs remain 
responsible for significant amounts of mining wastes, and EPA will seek 
cost recovery or performance of work for OU1 from them.
    The covenant not to sue in this settlement provides relief from 
CERCLA liability for the Site although the Settling Respondents may not 
be jointly and severally liable for the entire site. This agreement 
also contains a reservation of rights for natural resource liability 
for the release of hazardous substances from sources other than mining 
wastes, and for obligations of the Settling Respondents to complete the 
feasibility study for the Site.

    Dated: August 28, 2002.
James B. Gulliford,
Regional Administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency, 
Region VII.
[FR Doc. 02-23366 Filed 9-12-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P