[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 68 (Wednesday, April 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19776-19777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07324]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Settlement Agreement Under the 
Atomic Energy Act and Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation and Liability Act

    On April 1, 2020, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Settlement Agreement between the United States, on behalf of the 
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (``NRC'') and the Environmental 
Protection Agency (``EPA''), the Oklahoma Department of Environmental 
Quality (``ODEQ''), Fansteel, Inc. (``Debtor'' or ``Fansteel''), and 
FMRI, Inc. with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of 
Iowa in the case entitled In re Fansteel, Inc., Case No. 16-01823-als11 
(Bankr. S.D. Iowa).
    The United States, on behalf of the NRC, filed a protective proof 
of claim on January 17, 2017, in this bankruptcy action, which, inter 
alia, asserted that Fansteel is liable to the United States to comply 
with Sections 62, 63, and 161 of the Atomic Energy Act, 42 U.S.C. 2092, 
2093, 2201, applicable regulations under 10 CFR parts 20 and 40, 10 CFR 
40.36, NRC license SMB-911, and the Amended Decommissioning Plan for 
the Muskogee Property, the facility owned by Debtor and operated by 
FMRI, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Debtor, and to perform the 
decommissioning and remediation of that Property.
    Under the Settlement Agreement: (1) The Debtor will transfer Parcel 
D of the Muskogee property to FMRI; (2) FMRI will use funds received 
from the Decommissioning Trust under the Amended Decommissioning Plan, 
from the Plan Administrator under Fansteel's Plan of Reorganization, or 
from other sources for activities necessary to maintain health and 
safety, fulfill obligations mandated by the NRC License and Amended 
Decommissioning Plan, or conduct response actions pursuant to the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act 
(``CERCLA'), 42 U.S.C. 9601-9675, or the Oklahoma Environmental Quality 
Code 27A, Oklahoma Statutes Sec.  2-1-101 et seq., at the Muskogee 
Property; (3) the Debtor will transfer any and all causes of action the 
Debtor may have against potentially responsible parties at the Muskogee 
Property under CERCLA and Oklahoma law to FMRI; (4) the Debtor and the 
``Environmental Authorities'' (NRC, EPA, and ODEQ) will allocate 
between them as provided in the Settlement Agreement any Net Proceeds 
received from the sale of Parcel B, any settlement reached with the 
Port of Muskogee regarding environmental liability for the Muskogee 
Property, and any other Net Proceeds received; (5) the Environmental 
Authorities will receive one hundred percent (100%) of any net 
insurance proceeds for losses related to environmental liabilities with 
respect to the Muskogee Property; and (6) the Environmental Authorities 
and FMRI will share on a fifty/fifty percent (50%/50%) basis as 
provided in the Settlement Agreement the proceeds from any settlement 
or adjudication of the third party environmental claims transferred 
from the Debtor to FMRI.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the proposed Settlement Agreement. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
and should refer to In re Fansteel, Inc., Case No. 16-01823 als-11 
(Bankr. S.D. Iowa) and DJ #90-10-07797/2. All comments must be 
submitted no later than fifteen (15) days after the publication date of 
this notice. Comments may be submitted either by email or by mail:

[[Page 19777]]



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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, D.C. 20044-7611.
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    During the public comment period, the proposed Settlement Agreement 
may be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: 
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 $8.00 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.

Thomas Carroll,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2020-07324 Filed 4-7-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-15-P