2017-03134. Notice of Lodging of Proposed Modification of Consent Decree Under the Clean Air Act

On February 13, 2017, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed modification to a Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana in United States and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality v. Cabot Corporation, Civil Case No. 13-3095 (W.D. La.).

The original Consent Decree was entered on March 13, 2014, and resolved civil claims under the Clean Air Act at the Defendant's three carbon black manufacturing facilities located in Louisiana and Texas. The Consent Decree imposed various pollution control requirements on Defendant's facilities, including requirements related to sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate matter emissions. At the Canal and Ville Platte facilities in Louisiana, these pollution control requirements included, among other requirements, installation of Wet Gas Scrubber (“WGS”) systems designed to reduce sulfur dioxide emissions, and Selective Catalytic Reduction (“SCR”) systems to reduce nitrogen oxide emissions. The WGS systems are also expected to result in an ancillary reduction in particulate matter emissions.

The parties to the Consent Decree have agreed to certain modifications to the Decree that reflect a more refined understanding of the ancillary particulate matter reductions expected from the sulfur dioxide controls, and associated scheduling delays. The modifications would extend the deadlines for installing controls by six-and-a-half months at the Canal facility and by nine months at the Ville Platte facility, and would establish a process for Cabot to petition EPA for an alternative particulate matter limit to reflect the ancillary particulate reductions expected from the sulfur dioxide controls.

The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on the proposed modifications to the Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and should refer to United States and the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality v. Cabot Corporation, Civil Case No. 13-3095 (W.D. La.), D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-2-1-10355. 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:

To submit comments:	Send them to:
By e-mail	[e-mail].
By mail	Assistant Attorney General, U.S. DOJ-ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044-7611.

During the public comment period, the proposed modifications to the Consent Decree may be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department Web site: https://www.justice.gov/​enrd/​consent-decrees. We will provide a paper copy of the proposed modifications 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 $4.00 (25 cents per page reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.

Thomas P. Carroll,

Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division.