[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 146 (Tuesday, August 3, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 41876]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-16520]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

    On July 23, 2021, the United States lodged a proposed consent 
decree with the United States District Court for the Northern District 
of Illinois in the lawsuit entitled United States v. Chains and Links, 
Inc. et al., Case No. 3:18-cv-50268 (N.D. Ill.). The proposed consent 
decree, if approved by the Court after public comment, will fully 
resolve claims of the United States Environmental Protection Agency 
(``EPA'') against the two remaining defendants named in the complaint, 
which seeks to recover response costs incurred by EPA in cleaning up a 
portion of the Bautsch Gray Mine Superfund site (``Site'') near Galena, 
Illinois. Under a prior consent decree, which was approved by the Court 
in May, EPA will recover $1.292 million in response costs over an 18-
month period. Under the proposed consent decree, the settling 
defendants--West Galena Development, Inc. (``WGD'') and the Estate of 
Lois Jean Wienen (``Estate'')--will reimburse the United States for 
$1.25 million in response costs, bringing our total recovery in this 
action to $2.542 million.
    The United States brought this action in 2016 asserting claims 
under Sections 106, 107, and 113(g)(2) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (``CERCLA''), 
42 U.S.C. 9606, 9607(a), and 9613(g)(2). To resolves these claims, WGD 
and the Estate will not only reimburse the United States for response 
costs, but also undertake limited activities with respect to a portion 
of the Site that is jointly owned by WGD and one of the prior settling 
defendants. WGD and the Estate, for instance, must provide EPA and its 
contractors with access to the property and must cooperate with the 
prior-settling defendants in executing an environmental covenant that 
will give EPA enforcement rights relating to the property. If the 
property is sold in the future at a price that reflects the value of 
the property after it has been cleaned up in accordance with the EPA-
selected remedy for the Site, EPA will receive 75% of the net proceeds 
from the sale. Finally, the proposed consent decree resolves a 
counterclaim asserted by WGD for breach of contract and relief under 
the Administrative Procedures Act.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the proposed consent decree. Comments should be addressed to the Acting 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
and should refer to United States v. Chains and Links, Inc. et al., 
D.J. Ref. No. 90-11-3-10235. All comments must be submitted no later 
than thirty (30) days after the publication date of this revised 
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...................................  Acting 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 website: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. We will also 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 $17.25 (69 pages at 25 
cents per page reproduction cost) payable to the United States 
Treasury. For a paper copy without the appendices and signature pages, 
the cost is $8.

Patricia McKenna,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2021-16520 Filed 8-2-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P