[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 13 (Thursday, January 22, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4052-4053]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-1147]


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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 Section 122 of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. 9622, the 
Department of Justice gives notice that, on January 6, 2009, a proposed 
Consent Decree (the Decree) in United States v. Beckman Coulter, Inc., 
et al., Civil Action No. 98-CV-4812, and New Jersey Department of 
Environmental Protection, et al. v. American Thermoplastics Corp., et 
al., Civil Action No. 98-CV-4781, was lodged with the United States 
District Court for the District of New Jersey. The Decree addresses 
recovery of response costs incurred or to be incurred and natural 
resource damages at the Combe Fill South Landfill Superfund Site (the 
Site), located in Washington and Chester Townships in Morris County, 
New Jersey. In these consolidated cases, the United States and the New 
Jersey Department of Environmental Protection brought civil claims 
against 31 potentially responsible parties (PRPs) under Section 107 of 
CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9607, for recovery of response costs at the Site. The 
State Plaintiffs also brought civil claims in connection with the Site 
under the New Jersey Spill Compensation and Control Act (the Spill 
Act), N.J.S.A. 58:10-23 et seq., and other authorities, for response 
costs and natural resource damages. Defendants subsequently filed 
contribution claims against 382 third-parties.
    Under the proposed Decree, Plaintiffs will receive: (1) $61-$69 
million (depending on how many Municipal Third-Party Defendants enter 
into the

[[Page 4053]]

settlement prior to entry of the Decree by the Court), including $6.4 
million from federal departments and agencies, in reimbursement of past 
costs, with interest on that entire past costs amount payable from 
December 8, 2007 through the date of payment; (2) $3,218,700 for 
natural resource damage (NRD) restoration projects; and (3) an annuity 
paying $27 million over thirty years for cleanup and operation and 
maintenance (O&M) costs to be incurred at the Site in connection with 
the remedy. In addition, Plaintiffs will recover the net proceeds of 
contribution actions against non-settling parties.
    There have been two prior settlements in these cases. In 2003, in 
two de minimis consent decrees, Plaintiffs resolved the liability of 58 
de minimis parties for response costs for $3.26 million and resolved 
the liability of a subset of those parties for NRD for $302,000. 
Subsequently, in 2005, Plaintiffs entered into an ability-to-pay 
settlement with former Site owners and transporters for $13,047,121.50.
    This Decree does not select the remedy or determine future uses at 
the Site. Rather, the settlement provides, in part, continued funding 
for the remedy selected in the 1986 Site Record of Decision. The Decree 
also provides settling parties a Covenant Not to Sue by the Plaintiffs 
pursuant to CERCLA and Section 7003 of the Resource Conservation and 
Recovery Act (RCRA), 42 U.S.C. 9673, for all costs and remedial 
activities at the Site. The State Plaintiffs similarly provide a 
Covenant Not to Sue pursuant to the Spill Act and other authorities. In 
the event new information or conditions are discovered, the Covenants 
are subject to a reopener against parties specified in the Decree 
believed to have sent higher volumes of waste 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 
proposed Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and 
either e-mailed to [email protected] or mailed to United 
States Department of Justice, Post Office Box 7611, Washington, DC 
20044-7611, and should refer to United States v. Beckman Coulter, Inc., 
et al., Civil Action No. 98-CV-4812, and DOJ Reference No. 90-11-2-
1134/1. 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 Decree may be examined at: (1) The Office 
of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey, 970 Broad 
Street-Room 700, Newark, New Jersey 07102 (973-645-2700); and (2) the 
United States Environmental Protection Agency-Region II, 290 Broadway-
17th Floor, New York, New York 10007 (contact: William C. Tucker, 
Assistant Regional Counsel, 212-637-3139).
    During the public comment period, the proposed Decree may also be 
examined at the Department of Justice Web site, http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. A copy of the proposed Decree may also be 
obtained by mail from the Consent Decree Library, United States 
Department of Justice, Post Office Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044-7611 
or by faxing or e-mailing a request to Tonia Fleetwood 
([email protected]) (fax 202-514-0097, phone confirmation 202-
514-1547). In requesting a copy from the Consent Decree Library, please 
refer to the referenced case and DOJ Reference Number and enclose a 
check for $59.25 for the Decree (237 pages including Appendices, at 25 
cents per page reproduction costs), made 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.

Ronald G. Gluck,
Assistant Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. E9-1147 Filed 1-21-09; 8:45 am]
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