[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 133 (Thursday, July 10, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39720-39721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-15648]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Final Modification of 1994 Consent Decree 
With ASARCO Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act

    Notice is hereby given that on July 2, 2008, a Final Modification 
of 1994 Consent Decree with Asarco (``Final Consent Decree 
Modification'') in State of Colorado v. ASARCO Incorporated et al., 
Civil Action No. 86-cv-1675-WYD (consolidated with 83-cv-2388-WYD) was 
lodged with the United States District Court for the District of 
Colorado.
    The United States and the State of Colorado previously entered into 
a consent decree with ASARCO Incorporated (now ASARCO, LLC) 
(``ASARCO'') concerning, among other things, ASARCO's performance of 
response actions at various Operable Units (``OUs'') of the California 
Gulch Superfund Site located in Lake County, Colorado (``Site'') 
including OUs 5, 7 and 9. That consent decree was approved and entered 
by the United

[[Page 39721]]

States District Court for the District of Colorado on August 26, 1994 
(the ``1994 Decree''). The 1994 Decree was modified concerning OU 9, 
and approved and entered by the United States District Court for the 
District of Colorado on May 1, 2008.
    The proposed Final Consent Decree Modification implements a 
settlement of the remainder of the claims concerning the Site filed by 
the Plaintiffs (as that term is defined in the Final Consent Decree 
Modification) in In re ASARCO LLC, et al., a bankruptcy case pending in 
the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division, Case No. 05-
21207 (the ``Bankruptcy Case''). In general, pursuant to the terms of 
the Final Consent Decree Modification, the United States, on behalf of 
the United States Environmental Protection Agency, shall have an 
allowed general unsecured claim in the Bankruptcy Case in the amount of 
$8,833,000 for past and future response costs. In addition, the United 
States, on behalf of the United States Department of the Interior, 
shall have an allowed general unsecured claim in the Bankruptcy Case in 
the amount of $5,000,000 for natural resource damages. Under the terms 
of the Final Consent Decree Modification, the State of Colorado shall 
have an allowed general unsecured claims in the amount of $467,000 for 
past and future response costs, and in the amount of $5,000,000 for 
natural resource damages. This Final Consent Decree Modification will 
resolve the Governments' claims against ASARCO with respect to the 
Site.
    The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication comments relating to the Final 
Consent Decree Modification. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
and either e-mailed to [email protected] or mailed to P.O. 
Box 7611, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611, and 
should refer to United States v. Apache Energy and Minerals Company, 
D.J. Ref. 90-11-3-138.
    The Final Consent Decree Modification may be examined at the Office 
of the United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, 1225 
Seventeenth Street, Suite 700, Denver, CO 80202, and at U.S. EPA Region 
8, Superfund Records Center, 1595 Wynkoop St., Denver, CO 80202-1129. 
During the public comment period, the 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 Final Consent Decree 
Modification may also be obtained by mail from the Consent Decree 
Library, P.O. Box 7611, U.S. Department of Justice, 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 $9.00 payable to the 
U.S. Treasury or, if by e-mail or fax, forward a check in that amount 
to the Consent Decree Library at the stated address.

Robert E. Maher, Jr.,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
 [FR Doc. E8-15648 Filed 7-9-08; 8:45 am]
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