[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 151 (Friday, August 7, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39712-39713]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-18972]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Air Act

    Notice is hereby given that on August 4, 2009, a proposed Consent 
Decree in United States et al. v. Aleris International, Inc. et al., 
Civil Action No. 1:09-cv-00340, was lodged with the United States 
District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.
    The Consent Decree would resolve claims for injunctive relief and 
the assessment of civil penalties asserted by the United States; the 
States of Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Tennessee, and West 
Virginia; the Commonwealths of Kentucky and Virginia; the Oklahoma 
Department of Environmental Quality; and the Maricopa County Air 
Quality Department (collectively, ``Plaintiffs'') against Aleris 
International, Inc. and 13 of its subsidiaries (collectively, 
``Aleris'') pursuant to Sections 113(b) and 304(a)(1) of the Clean Air 
Act, 42 U.S.C. 7413(b) and 7604(a)(1).
    Aleris processes aluminum scrap and dross to produce various 
secondary aluminum products, a process that results in emissions of 
regulated air pollutants, including dioxins and furans, hydrogen 
chloride, particulate matter, and hydrocarbons. The Plaintiffs' Amended 
Complaint, filed concurrently with the Consent Decree, alleges that 
Aleris violated Section 112 of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 7412; the 
National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants (``NESHAP'')

[[Page 39713]]

for Secondary Aluminum Production, codified at 40 CFR part 63, subparts 
A and RRR; and related provisions of state and local law at 15 of its 
secondary aluminum production facilities. Specifically, the Amended 
Complaint alleges that Aleris failed to demonstrate compliance with 
emission standards through valid performance testing, to design and 
install adequate capture and collection systems, to correctly establish 
and monitor operating parameters, and to comply with recordkeeping and 
reporting requirements.
    The Consent Decree would require Aleris to improve its capture of 
emissions at each emission unit, retest every emission unit using model 
test protocols, adopt new monitoring practices, use model recordkeeping 
and reporting documents, and install an additional control device and 
monitoring equipment at particular facilities. The Consent Decree would 
also provide for a $4.6 million civil penalty, to be allowed as a 
prepetition general unsecured claim in Aleris's pending bankruptcy 
proceeding in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of 
Delaware.
    The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication comments relating to the 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 P.O. Box 7611, U.S. 
Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611, and should refer to 
United States et al. v. Aleris International, Inc. et al., D.J. Ref. 
No. 90-5-2-1-08603.
    The Consent Decree may be examined at the Office of the United 
States Attorney, Northern District of Ohio, 801 W. Superior Avenue, 
Suite 400, Cleveland, OH 44113, and at the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency, Ariel Rios Building, 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW., 
Washington, DC 20460. 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 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 $95.50 for a copy of 
the complete Consent Decree (25 cents per page reproduction cost), or 
$21.00 for a copy without appendices, 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.

Maureen Katz,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. E9-18972 Filed 8-6-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P