[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 142 (Wednesday, July 24, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 44598]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-17735]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Clean Water Act

    On July 18, 2013, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the Southern 
District of Illinois in the lawsuit entitled United States v. Chemetco, 
Inc., Civil Action Nos. 00-670 and 00-677. The United States and the 
State of Illinois (the ``State'') are plaintiffs in that consolidated 
environmental enforcement action concerning the Chemetco Superfund Site 
in Hartford, Illinois (the ``Chemetco Site'' or the ``Site''). The 
United States and the State also are co-signatories to the proposed 
Consent Decree with the Chapter 7 Bankruptcy Estate of Chemetco, Inc. 
(the ``Estate''), as represented by the Chapter 7 Trustee for the 
Estate, and Paradigm Minerals and Environmental Services LLC 
(``Paradigm'').
    The proposed Consent Decree would regulate the sale and 
reprocessing of slag and other metal-bearing materials at the Chemetco 
Site under an Asset Purchase and Processing Agreement between the 
Estate and Paradigm (the ``Processing Agreement''). Work under that 
Processing Agreement--which was approved by a set of Bankruptcy Court 
Orders--would decrease the volume of material that needs to be 
contained or remediated as a waste, thereby reducing the potential cost 
of any final remedy for the Chemetco Site under the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. The Processing 
Agreement also requires that a fixed portion of the revenue from the 
reprocessing operation be deposited in a specially-established 
environmental escrow account and used for remediation of the Site. The 
Consent Decree would require that the work at the Site by Paradigm and 
the Estate conform to a detailed set of EPA-approved work plans 
appended to the Decree. The Decree also requires Paradigm to post 
financial assurance as backing for its commitment to assure the clean 
closure of the reprocessing area after its work is completed. All EPA 
costs of overseeing the sale and reprocessing activities would be 
reimbursed under the settlement.
    In addition, the proposed Consent Decree would resolve claims 
against the Estate under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act 
(``RCRA'') and the Clean Water Act in exchange for: (i) $471,000 to be 
transferred from a RCRA Financial Assurance Trust Fund established by 
Chemetco to a Superfund Special Account that can be used to fund 
cleanup work at the Site; (ii) a $500,000 allowed claim for civil 
penalties against the Estate; and (iii) conditions limiting the sale of 
a parking lot area that was created by filling a portion of a wetland 
with slag.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment 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. Chemetco, Inc., D.J. Ref. No. 90-
5-1-1-4516. All comments must be submitted no later than thirty (30) 
days after the publication date of this notice. Comments may 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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    The United States also intends to hold a public meeting on the 
proposed Consent Decree pursuant to section 7003(d) of RCRA. The 
meeting will be held at 6:30 p.m. on August 6, 2013, at the Hartford 
Community Center, located at 715 N. Delmar Avenue in Hartford, 
Illinois.
    During the public comment period, the 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 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 $147.25 (25 cents per 
page reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury. For a 
paper copy without the exhibits, the cost is $28.50.

Maureen Katz,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2013-17735 Filed 7-23-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P