[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 185 (Tuesday, September 23, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54855-54856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-22117]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Settlement Agreement Under the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA)

    Notice is hereby given that on September 9, 2008, a proposed 
Settlement Agreement Regarding Miscellaneous Federal and State 
Environmental Sites was filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court 
for the Southern District of Texas in In re ASARCO LLC, et al., Case 
No. 05-21207 (Bankr. S.D. Tex.) (Docket No. 9101-5, Plan Exhibit 12-B). 
The settlement provides the United States with an allowed general 
unsecured claim in the amount indicated for each of the following 
Sites: The Tacoma Site--Operable Units (``OU'') 02, 04, and 06 of the 
Commencement Bay Nearshore Tideflats Superfund Site in and around 
Tacoma and Ruston, Washington, $27,000,000; the Circle Smelting Site--a 
former zinc smelter facility located in the Village of Beckemeyer, 
Illinois, $6,052,390; the Terrible Mine Site--a 44-acre former lead 
mining and milling site located in the Old Isle Mining District of 
Custer County, Colorado, $1,400,000; Stephenson/Bennett Mine Site--a 
150-acre former mining and milling area in Do[ntilde]a Ana County, New 
Mexico, $550,000; the Coy Mine Site--a zinc mine in Jefferson County, 
Tennessee, $200,000; the Richardson Flat Tailings Site--a 160-acre 
former mine tailings impoundment and the Lower Silver Creek area in 
Summit County, Utah, $7,400,000; the Jack Waite Mine Site--several mine 
adits, a former mill site, four tailings ponds, and one or more waste 
rock piles located on land administered by the Forest Service in the 
Coeur d'Alene National Forest east of Prichard, Idaho, $11,300,000; the 
Black Pine Mine Site--mill tailings, a large mine waste rock dump, a 
seep, and associated wastes located on land administered by the Forest 
Service in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest northwest of 
Philipsburg, Montana, $190,000; the Combination Mine Site--a tailings 
pond and associated wastes in Lower Willow Creek located on land 
administered by the Forest Service in the Beaverhead-Deerlodge National 
Forest northwest of Philipsburg, Montana, $542,000; the Flux Mine 
Site--a former zinc and silver mine and associated mine adits and waste 
rock dumps located on land administered by the Forest Service in the 
Coronado National Forest southeast of Patagonia, Arizona, $487,000; the 
International Boundary Water Commission (``IBWC'') Site--the American 
Dam and Canal portion of the Rio Grande Canalization Project and the 
American Dam Field Office in El Paso, Texas, $19,000,000; the Monte 
Cristo Mining District Site--a historic mining district including 
mines, mill facilities, adits, and waste piles located partly on land 
administered by the Forest Service within the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie 
National Forest, in Snohomish County, Washington, $5,500,000 (the 
Settlement also provides the State of Washington an allowed general 
unsecured claim of $5,500,000 for this Site); the Vasquez Boulevard/I-
70 Site--a historic smelter and the residential areas surrounding it, 
comprising OU1, OU2, and OU3 of the Vasquez Boulevard/Interstate-70 
Superfund Site, in north-central Denver, Colorado, $1,500,000. The 
Settlement Agreement is subject to confirmation of Debtors' Plan of 
Reorganization.
    For thirty (30) days after the date of this publication, the 
Department of Justice will receive comments relating to the Settlement 
Agreement. 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. In either case, 
comments should refer to In re Asarco LLC, Case No. 05-21207 (Bankr. 
S.D. Tex.), D.J. Ref. No. 90-11-3-08633. Commenters may request an 
opportunity for a public meeting in the affected area, in accordance 
with Section 7003(d) of RCRA, 42 U.S.C. 6973(d).
    The proposed Settlement Agreement may be examined at: The Office of 
the

[[Page 54856]]

United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, 800 North 
Shoreline Blvd, 500, Corpus Chrsti, TX 78476-2001; the Region 
4 Office of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Atlanta 
Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta, GA 30303-3104; the 
Region 5 Office of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 
77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 60604-3507; the Region 6 Office 
of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Fountain Place 
12th Floor, Suite 1200, 1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, TX 75202-2733; the 
Region 8 Office of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 
1595 Wynkoop St., Denver, CO 80202-1129; and the Region 10 Office of 
the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Sixth Avenue 
Suite 900, Seattle, WA 98101. During the comment period, the proposed 
Settlement Agreement may also be examined on the following Department 
of Justice Web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decree.html. A 
copy of the proposed Settlement Agreement may also be obtained by mail 
from the Department of Justice 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 $6.75 for the Settlement Agreement (25 cents per 
page reproduction costs) payable to the United States 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. E8-22117 Filed 9-22-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P