[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 240 (Thursday, December 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74222-74223]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-30095]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    On December 6, 2012, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Consent Decree for Remedial Design/Remedial Action with the United 
States District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Eastern 
Division in the lawsuit entitled United States of America v. Pharmacia 
Corporation and Solutia, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:02-CV-0749-KOB.
    The Consent Decree represents a partial settlement of claims 
brought by the United States pursuant to the Comprehensive 
Environmental

[[Page 74223]]

Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). The complaint, 
which was filed on March 25, 2002, contained claims seeking injunctive 
relief and the recovery of costs incurred by the United States in 
connection with the release and threatened release of hazardous 
substances, including polychlorinated biphenyls (``PCBs'') in and 
around Anniston, Alabama.
    The proposed Consent Decree requires Defendant to perform the 
cleanup for OU-3 which is comprised of the real property on which the 
Defendants' plant, including the adjacent closed South Landfill and the 
closed West End Landfill, are located. OU-3 covers approximately 138 
acres, with the area of current, active manufacturing operations 
covering approximately 68 acres of this real property. OU-3 is 
generally bounded to the north by the Northern Southern and Erie 
Railroads, to the east by Clydesdale Avenue, to the west by and 
including the West End Landfill and an Alabama Power Company 
substation, and to the south by and including the South End Landfill 
and Highway 202.
    The selected remedy for OU-3 is soil capping and expanded 
groundwater extraction. The objectives of the remedial action for soils 
include: Reducing risks to area workers and trespassers from direct 
contact with, inhalation of, or incidental ingestion of contaminants of 
concern; prevent mitigation and leaching of contaminants of concern in 
subsurface soils; minimize migration of contaminants of concern in 
surface soil to surface water; and control future releases of 
contaminants of concern to ensure protection of public health and the 
environment. The cleanup goal for surface soil is PCBs of 25 ppm which 
is within the range recommended for industrial sites in the EPA's 1990 
``Guidance on Remedial Actions for Superfund Sites with PCB 
Contamination.'' EPA selected a cleanup level of 40 ppm for subsurface 
dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs. Remedial action will be required where 
sampling within areas of OU-3 show concentrations above the cleanup 
levels.
    With respect to groundwater, the cleanup objectives include: 
Prevention of exposure to groundwater from direct contact with, 
inhalation of, and ingestion of contaminants of concern in groundwater 
above acceptable levels; prevent future migration of contaminated 
groundwater beyond the existing known limits of the contamination 
plume; and restore contaminated groundwater throughout each plume. The 
groundwater remedy includes subsurface and/or groundwater confirmation 
sampling, execution of an environmental covenant with the Alabama 
Department of Environmental Management to restrict land and groundwater 
use in the OU-3 area; monitoring of wells; optimization and expansion 
of existing groundwater corrective action, carbon filtration, and 
institutional controls to ensure long-term effectiveness of the remedy. 
The Consent Decree further requires the Defendants to reimburse EPA for 
its oversight of the work performed under the Decree by the Defendants.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comments 
on the proposed Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
and should refer to United States v. Pharmacia Corporation and Solutia, 
Inc., D.J. Ref. No. 90-11-2-07135/1. All comments must be submitted no 
later than thirty (30) days after the publication date of this notice. 
Comments must be submitted either by email or by mail:

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      To submit comments:                     Send them to:
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By email......................  [email protected]
By mail.......................  Assistant Attorney General, U.S. DOJ-
                                 ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC
                                 20044-7611.
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    During the public comment period, the proposed Consent Decree may 
be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department Web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. We will provide a paper copy 
of the proposed Consent Decree upon written request and payment of 
reproduction costs. Please mail your request and payment to:

Consent Decree Library, U.S. DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 
20044-7611.
    Please enclose a check or money order for $71.75 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury. For a paper 
copy of the proposed Consent Decree without the exhibits, the cost is 
$12.25.

Henry Friedman,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-30095 Filed 12-12-12; 8:45 am]
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