[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 126 (Monday, June 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Page 36900]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-14725]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    Pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 9622(d)(2) and 28 CFR 50.7, notice is hereby 
given that, on June 20, 2008, a proposed Amended Consent Decree in 
United States and the State of Wisconsin v. P.H. Glatfelter Co. and WTM 
I Co., Civil Action No. 03-C-0949 (E.D. Wis.) was lodged with the 
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. The 
Amended Consent Decree concerns polychlorinated biphenyl (``PCB'') 
contamination in a particular area of the Lower Fox River and Green Bay 
Site, known as Operable Unit 1 (Little Lake Butte des Morts).
    The original Consent Decree in this matter required the Defendants 
to implement the cleanup remedy for Operable Unit 1 that was selected 
in a December 2002 Record of Decision issued jointly by the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') and the Wisconsin Department 
of Natural Resources (``WDNR''). That Decree provided that the 
Defendants would pay for performance of that work using a specially-
dedicated $60 million fund established by the potentially-responsible 
parties, plus interest earned on the money placed in that fund. In 
light of that limited funding commitment, the Decree included 
corresponding ``cost reopener'' provisions that allowed termination of 
the Decree (with reservations of rights) if the actual costs of the 
work exceeded that funding commitment. The Amended Consent Decree would 
eliminate the ``cost reopener'' provisions of the original Decree and 
it would require the Defendants to complete the Operable Unit 1 cleanup 
without any pre-defined funding limitation. The Amended Decree also 
would accommodate adjustments to the Operable Unit 1 remedy that are 
reflected in a Record of Decision Amendment that EPA and WDNR issued on 
June 12, 2008. The work under the original Decree and the proposed 
Amended Decree currently is estimated to cost approximately $102 
million. Like the original Decree, the Amended Decree would not resolve 
the Defendants' liability for additional cleanup work that will be 
required elsewhere at the Site.
    The Department of Justice will receive comments relating to the 
Amended Consent Decree for a period of thirty (30) days from the date 
of this publication. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and 
mailed either electronically to [email protected] or in 
hard copy to P.O. Box 7611, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 
20044-7611. Comments should refer to United States and the State of 
Wisconsin v. P.H. Glatfelter Co. and WTM I Co., Civil Action No. 03-C-
0949 (E.D. Wis.) and D.J. Ref. No. 90-11-2-1045/2.
    The Amended Consent Decree may be examined at: (1) The offices of 
the United States Attorney, 517 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Room 530, 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin; and (2) the offices of the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 14th Floor, 
Chicago, Illinois. During the public comment period, the Consent Decree 
may also be examined on the following Department of Justice Web site: 
http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. A copy of the Consent 
Decree may also be obtained by mail from the Department of Justice 
Consent Decree Library, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044-7611 or by 
faxing or e-mailing a request to Tonia Fleetwood 
([email protected]), fax no. (202) 514-0097, phone confirmation 
number (202) 514-1547. In requesting a copy from the Consent Decree 
Library, please enclose a check in the amount of $49.25 (197 pages at 
25 cents per page reproduction cost) payable to the U.S. Treasury. For 
a copy of the Consent Decree alone, without appendices, please enclose 
a check in the amount of $26.25 (105 pages at 25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the U.S. Treasury.

William D. Brighton,
Assistant Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. E8-14725 Filed 6-27-08; 8:45 am]
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