[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 87 (Friday, May 3, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 36832-36833]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-09711]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    On April 26, 2024, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Agreement and Order Regarding Fourth Modification of Consent Decree 
with the United States District Court for the Southern District of 
Texas in the lawsuit entitled United States v. French Limited, Inc., et 
al., original case No. H-89-2544 (new case No. 4:89-cv-2544).
    The original Consent Decree, entered by the Court on March 7, 1990, 
resolved the United States' claims, on behalf of the United States 
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), against eighty-six (86) Settling 
Defendants under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act, as amended (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 
9601 et seq., for contamination at the French Limited Superfund Site 
located near Crosby, Texas (the Site). Pursuant to the 1990 Consent 
Decree, Settling Defendants are obligated to perform response 
activities at the Site as selected by EPA in a Record of Decision 
signed on March 24, 1988, or have resolved their Site liability through 
a cash payment. Certain Settling Defendants known as the French Limited 
Trust Group (Group) remain responsible for ongoing work under the 1990 
Consent Decree.
    In response to new information, and after notice and consideration 
of public comments on its proposal, on September 30, 2014, EPA revised 
the groundwater remedy for the Site through an Amendment to the Record 
of decision. The proposed Agreement and Order Regarding Fourth 
Modification of Consent Decree is between the United States and the 
sixteen Settling Defendants who are signatories to that Agreement and 
Order and would modify the Consent Decree to reflect the revised work 
requirements of the 2014 ROD Amendment, provide for the reimbursement 
to EPA of certain EPA response costs, and provide for the disbursement 
to members of the working Group of funds received by EPA in a 
Bankruptcy Settlement payment for the Site.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the proposed Agreement and Order Regarding Fourth Modification of 
Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney 
General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and should refer 
to United States v. French Limited, Inc., et al., Case No. H-89-2544, 
D.J. Ref. No. 90-11-3-46A. 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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    Any comments submitted in writing may be filed by the United States 
in whole or in part on the public court docket without notice to the 
commenter.

[[Page 36833]]

During the public comment period, the Agreement and Order Regarding 
Fourth Modification of Consent decree may be examined and downloaded at 
this Justice Department website: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. If you require assistance accessing the Agreement and Order, 
you may request assistance by email or by mail to the addresses 
provided above for submitting comments.

Thomas Carroll,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-09711 Filed 5-2-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P