[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 51 (Tuesday, March 17, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 13072]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-6843]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Consent Decrees Under the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act
Notice is hereby given that a consent decree in United States v.
Bell Petroleum, et al., Civil Action No. MO-88-CA-05(W.D. Tex.) was
lodged with the United States District Court for the Western District
of Texas on March 6, 1998.
This action was filed in 1988 against Bell Petroleum Company and
others to recover costs the United States had incurred and was
continuing to incur in connection with the Odessa Chromium I Site in
Odessa, Texas. At the time of settlement, the case was on its third
appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
The United States previously settled with all defendants except
Sequa Corporation and Chromalloy American Corporation, a subsidiary of
Sequa, recovering in excess of $1 million through those settlements.
The present settlement resolves the United States' pending claims and
certain future claims against Sequa and Chromalloy.
Under the Consent Decree, Sequa Corporation and Chromalloy American
Corporation will pay the United States $2.2 million in cash. Fifty
percent of the payment will be used to complete ongoing remedial
actions at the Odessa I Site. The other fifty percent will reimburse
the United States for past costs incurred by the United States in
connection with the Odessa I Site. In exchange for these payments, the
United States will provide a covenant not to sue to Sequa and
Chromalloy under sections 106 and 107 of the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Recovery Act (``CERCLA''), 42
U.S.C. 9606 and 9607, and Section 7003 of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (``RCRA''), 42 U.S.C. 6973, relating to the Odessa I Site.
The Department of Justice will receive written comments relating to
the proposed Consent Decree for thirty (30) days from the date of
publication of this notice. Please address comments to the Assistant
Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division,
Department of Justice, P.O. Box 7611, Ben Franklin Station, Washington,
D.C. 20044 and refer to United States v. Bell Petroleum et al., D.J.
Ref. No. 90-11-3-229A.
The Consent Decree may be examined at the Region 6 Office of EPA,
1445 Ross Avenue, Dallas, Texas, 75202, and at the Office of the United
States Attorney, 400 West Illinois, Suite 1200, Midland, Texas.
A copy of the Consent Decree (if requested) may also be obtained in
person or by mail from the Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street, N.W.,
4th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005, (202) 624-0892. In requesting
copies, please enclose a check in the amount of $5.50 (25 cents per
page reproduction cost) payable to the ``Consent Decree Library.''
Joel Gross,
Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural
Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 98-6843 Filed 3-16-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M
