[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 81 (Wednesday, April 27, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25045-25046]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08927]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Air 
Act

    On April 21, 2022, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the District 
of Massachusetts, in a lawsuit entitled United States v. Schnitzer 
Steel Industries, Inc., Civil Action No. 1:22-cv-10604.
    The United States filed this lawsuit under Section 113(b) of the 
Clean Air Act (``CAA''), 42 U.S.C. 7613(b). The Complaint seeks civil 
penalties, injunctive relief, and mitigation for violations of Title V 
of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7671-7671q, and its implementing regulations at 
40 CFR part 82, subpart F, designed to protect stratospheric ozone from 
the effects of refrigerant emissions, at 40 metal recycling facilities 
throughout the United States owned and operated by Schnitzer. The 
alleged violations include, among other things, (a) failing to recover 
refrigerants from small appliances, motor vehicle air conditioners 
(``MVACs''), and MVAC-like appliances (collectively, ``appliances'') 
prior to recycling; (b) failing to verify that all refrigerants had 
been properly recovered from appliances prior to their delivery to 
Schnitzer's facilities; and (c) accepting signed refrigerant recovery 
statements or contracts from scrap material suppliers knowing or having 
reason to know they were false.
    Under the proposed consent decree, Schnitzer will pay the United 
States a civil penalty of $1,550,000, plus interest, and implement 
compliance measures at all 40 facilities worth over $1,700,000. For 
example, the decree requires Schnitzer to, among other things, 
implement an EPA-approved refrigerant recovery management program 
(``RRMP''), including the provision of refrigerant recovery services, 
screening procedures for scrap appliances and vehicles, and related 
employee training. The decree also requires Schnitzer to perform a 
mitigation project involving the destruction of all R-12 refrigerant 
recovered from scrap appliances at its 40 facilities. R-12, which 
contains chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), has a global warming potential 
10,000 times that of carbon dioxide.
    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. Schnitzer Steel Industries, Inc., 
D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-2-1-12074. All comments must be submitted no later 
than 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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    During the public comment period, the consent decree may be 
examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. Paper copies of the consent 
decree are available upon written request and payment of reproduction 
costs. Such requests and payments should be

[[Page 25046]]

addressed to: Consent Decree Library, U.S. DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, 
Washington, DC 20044-7611.
    With each such request, please enclose a check or money order for 
$9.75 (25 cents per page reproduction cost) per paper copy, payable to 
the United States Treasury.

Henry S. Friedman,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2022-08927 Filed 4-26-22; 8:45 am]
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