[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 135 (Monday, July 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 45448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15046]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Air Act, the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, and the 
Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act

    On July 11, 2023, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
consent decree with the United States District Court for the District 
of Wyoming in the lawsuit entitled United States of America v. J.R. 
Simplot Company, Civil Action No. 1:23-cv-322. If approved by the 
court, the consent decree would resolve the claims of the United States 
against J.R. Simplot Company (Simplot) for injunctive relief and civil 
penalties for alleged violations of the Resource Conservation and 
Recovery Act (RCRA); for injunctive relief and civil penalties for 
alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA); and for civil penalties 
for alleged violations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Emergency Planning And 
Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA), at Simplot's phosphoric acid and 
fertilizer manufacturing plant located near Pocatello, Idaho, known as 
the Don Plant. The consent decree would require Simplot to (1) 
implement compliance projects at the Don Plant; (2) comply with 
specified requirements for management of wastes or other materials at 
the facility and in the facility's phosphogypsum stack system, (3) 
comply with specified requirements for the eventual closure and long-
term care of the facility, and provide financial assurance to cover the 
estimated cost of such obligations; and (4) continue groundwater and 
surface monitoring and reporting--monitoring and reporting that is 
currently required by a prior CERCLA consent decree under which Simplot 
also is required to implement remedial measures to address the release 
of hazardous substances into the environment as a result of past 
operations at the facility; and (5) comply with specified operational 
practices for air emissions controls, and replace the existing cooling 
towers by June 2026 with cooling pond(s) to reduce fluoride emissions 
into the air from the Don Plant, subject to a contingency that, if 
applicable, alternatively requires implementation of an EPA-approved 
plant to reduce fluoride emissions to the greatest extent practicable. 
The consent decree would also require Simplot to revise the annual 
Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Reporting Forms it submitted under 
EPCRA for years 2004-2012 to include estimates of compounds that 
previously were not included in those reports. In addition, the consent 
decree would require Simplot to pay a civil penalty of $1.5 million. In 
return for Simplot's compliance with these requirements, the consent 
decree would resolve past RCRA, CAA, CERCLA, and EPCRA violations at 
the Don Plant that the United States' complaint alleges. Provided that 
Simplot remains in compliance with consent decree's requirements for 
the management of wastes or other materials, under the consent decree 
the United States would also covenant not to sue Simplot under RCRA for 
its management of wastes or other materials at the Don Plant facility.
    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 v. J.R. Simplot Company, D.J. 
Ref. No. 90-7-1-08388/23. All comments must be submitted no later than 
thirty (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: 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 $127.25 (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 
$18.25.

Kathryn C. Macdonald,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-15046 Filed 7-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P