[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 7 (Wednesday, January 11, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 3348-3349]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00416]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Fish and Wildlife Service

[FWS-R5-ES-2016-N222; FVHC98310503020-XXX-FF05E1NY00]


Proposed Settlement Agreement Under Environmental Protection 
Statutes

AGENCY: Fish and Wildlife Service, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of proposed settlement; request for public comments.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the Department of the Interior, 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (DOI), together with the State of New 
York Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), reached agreement 
on a proposed settlement with Atlantic Richfield Company regarding 
natural resource

[[Page 3349]]

damages arising from environmental contamination at the Sinclair 
Refinery Superfund Site, located in Allegany County, New York. The 
settlement will resolve claims under the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act; the Oil Pollution Act; the 
Clean Water Act; and applicable State law.

DATES: Comments must be submitted by February 10, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Document availability: A copy of the proposed settlement may 
be obtained from Amy Roe, USFWS Biologist, by mail to the U.S. Fish and 
Wildlife Service, New York Field Office, 3817 Luker Road, Cortland, NY 
13045; via email to [email protected]; or via telephone at 607-753-9334.
    Comment submission: Comments should be addressed to Amy Roe at the 
contact information listed above and should reference the Sinclair 
Refinery Superfund Site.
    DOI response to comments: DOI's response to any comments received 
will be available for public inspection at https://www.fws.gov/northeast/nyfo/ec/nrda.htm.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Direct technical questions to Amy Roe 
(see ADDRESSES). For legal questions, contact Mark Barash, via mail to 
the Office of the Solicitor, U.S. Department of the Interior, Suite 
612, 1 Gateway Center, 300 Washington Street, Newton, MA 02458; via 
email to [email protected]; or via telephone at 617-527-2103.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This proposed settlement with Atlantic 
Richfield Company regarding natural resource damages arising from 
environmental contamination at the Sinclair Refinery Superfund Site, 
located in Allegany County, NY, will resolve claims in accordance with 
section 122(j) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 9622(j); 
CERCLA), and Executive Order 12580 (52 FR 2923; January 29, 1987). The 
settling party to this settlement is Atlantic Richfield Company. The 
settlement includes a covenant not to sue the settling party pursuant 
to section 107(a)(1)(C) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9607(a)(1)(C); the Oil 
Pollution Act of 1990, 33 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.; and the natural resource 
damages provisions of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1321(f)(4).
    The settlement will require Atlantic Richfield Company to pay a 
total of $275,000. DOI and DEC will receive $9,000 and $1,500, 
respectively, to reimburse assessment costs. The rest of the money, 
$264,500, will fund projects to restore, rehabilitate, replace, and/or 
acquire the equivalent of the natural resources injured at the site, 
including the costs of restoration planning and oversight activities. 
In exchange, DOI and DEC will provide the settling party a covenant not 
to sue. The settlement has been approved by the Environmental and 
Natural Resources Division of the United States Department of Justice.
    For 30 days following the date of publication of this notice (see 
DATES), DOI will receive written comments relating to the settlement 
(section XI of the proposed settlement). DOI and DEC will consider all 
comments received and may modify or withdraw their consent to 
settlement if comments received disclose facts or considerations that 
indicate that the settlement is inappropriate, improper, or inadequate.
    Written comments that we receive become part of the public record 
associated with this action. Before including your address, phone 
number, email address, or other personal identifying information in 
your comment, you should be aware that your entire comment--including 
your personal identifying information--may be made publicly available 
at any time. While you can request in your comment that we withhold 
your personal identifying information from public review, we cannot 
guarantee we will be able to do so. All submissions from organizations 
or businesses, and from individuals identifying themselves as 
representatives or officials of organizations or businesses, will be 
made available for public disclosure in their entirety.

    Dated: December 28, 2016.
Deborah Rocque,
Acting Regional Director, Northeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2017-00416 Filed 1-10-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4333-15-P