[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 137 (Tuesday, July 19, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43058-43059]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-15342]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under The Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act

    On July 13, 2022, the Department of Justice filed a complaint and 
lodged a proposed consent decree with the United States District Court 
for the Middle District of Louisiana in the lawsuit entitled United 
States of America and Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality v. 
PCS Nitrogen Fertilizer, L.P., Civil Action No. 3:22-cv-00468-SDD-RLB. 
If approved by the court, the consent decree would resolve the claims 
of the United States and the parallel claims of the Louisiana 
Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) against PCS Nitrogen 
Fertilizer, L.P., (PCS Nitrogen) for injunctive relief and civil 
penalties for alleged violations of the Resource Conservation and 
Recovery Act (RCRA) at PCS Nitrogen's former phosphoric acid fertilizer 
facility located in Geismar, Louisiana (Facility). PCS Nitrogen made 
phosphate and nitrogen fertilizer products (including sulfuric acid) at 
the Facility beginning in the 1960s, through processes that generated 
large quantities of acidic wastewater and a solid material called 
phosphogypsum. The phosphogypsum was deposited and remains in large 
piles that are over 200 feet high and cover an area greater than 100 
acres. The Facility ceased fertilizer production operations in December 
2018 but continues to conduct remediation and closure activities at its 
phosphogypsum stack system and surface impoundments.
    The consent decree would require PCS Nitrogen to (1) implement 
compliance projects at the Facility; (2) make RCRA hazardous waste 
determinations and properly manage all solid wastes generated, 
including any solid wastes generated during cleaning of equipment and 
phosphogypsum stack closure; (3) construct a wastewater treatment 
plant, repair leaks in certain impoundments, properly segregate 
stormwater and wastewater, and properly manage railcar and other 
cleaning wastes; (4) comply with specified requirements for the ongoing 
closure and long-term care of the Facility; and (5) provide over $84 
million of financial assurance to cover the estimated cost of such 
obligations. In addition, the consent decree would require PCS Nitrogen 
to pay a civil penalty of $1,510,023. In return for PCS Nitrogen's 
compliance with these requirements, the consent decree would resolve 
past RCRA violations at the Facility that the United States' and LDEQ's 
complaint alleges.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the consent decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and 
should refer to United States of America and Louisiana Department of 
Environmental Quality v. PCS Nitrogen Fertilizer, L.P., D.J. Ref. No. 
90-7-1-08388/22. All comments must be submitted no later than forty-
five (45) days after the publication date

[[Page 43059]]

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, D.C. 20044-7611.
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    During the public comment period, the consent decree, including a 
number of technical appendices, may be examined and downloaded at this 
Justice Department website: http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. 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 $147.75 (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 
$16.00.

Thomas Carroll,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2022-15342 Filed 7-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P