[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 181 (Friday, September 18, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Page 49926]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-24989]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Lodging of Consent Decrees Under CERCLA and the Clean
Water Act
Under 28 CFR Sec. 50.7, notice is hereby given that on August 6,
1996, the United States lodged with the United States District Court
for the Northern District of Indiana two proposed, related Consent
Decrees, the first in United States v. USX Corporation, Civil Action
No. 2:98CV 465JM (the ``CWA Action'') and the second in United States
and The State of Indiana v. USX Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:98CV
464RL (the ``NRD Action'').
In the CWA Action, the United States asserted claims against USX
Corporation (``USX'') under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et
seq.. In the separate NRD Action, the United States and the State of
Indiana asserted natural resource damages (``NRD'') claims against USX
under the NRD provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq., the Clean
Water Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq., and the Oil Pollution Act, 33
U.S.C. Sec. 2701 et seq. The claims in both actions relate to USX's
Gary Works steel-making facility in Gary, Indiana and are based on
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (``NPDES'') permit
violations, unpermitted pollutant discharges, and releases of oil and
hazardous substances from Gary Works to the East Branch of the Grand
Calumet River (``EBGCR'').
The proposed CWA Action consent decree, if entered by the Court,
will resolve the claims in that action and provide for relief
including: (i) sediment remediation through dredging and proper
disposal of contaminated sediments currently located in a five-mile
stretch of the EBGCR adjacent to and downriver from Gary Works; (ii)
the implementation of NPDES compliance programs to identify and stop
the sources of permit violations and unpermitted discharges; and (iii)
the payment by USX of $1.8 million in civil penalties, plus $1.1
million in stipulated penalties under a prior, 1990 Consent Decree
relating to Gary Works.
The proposed NRD Action consent decree, if entered by the Court,
will resolve the claims in the NRD action and require USX, in addition
to implementing the sediment remediation project described above: (i)
to clean up the surface of, and to convey to the United States and the
State of Indiana, more than 214 acres, in the aggregate, of undeveloped
property, including globally-rare dune and swale habitat, as
compensation for lost uses of natural resources; (ii) to restore and
protect 32 additional acres as wetlands, as compensation for wetlands
that will be lost during dredging; (iii) to pay the United States' and
the State's assessment costs (approximately $570,000); and (iv) to pay
$1 million into an escrow account to pay for post-dredging monitoring
of the EBGCR.
The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30)
days from the date of this publication comments relating to the
proposed Consent Decrees. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant
Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division,
Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530, and should refer to
United States v. USX Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:98CV 465JM and
United States and The State of Indiana v. USX Corporation, Civil Action
No. 2:98CV 464RL, D.J. Ref. 90-5-1-1-3111A and 90-5-1-1-3111/1.
The Consent Decrees may be examined at the Office of the United
States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, 1001 Main Street,
Suite A, Dyer, Indiana 46311; at the Environmental Protection Agency
Library, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604; and at the
Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street. N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington,
D.C. 20005, 202-624-0892. Copies of the Consent Decrees may be obtained
in person or by mail from the Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street,
N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005. In requesting copies, please
enclose a check payable to the Consent Decree Library, for the 25 cent
per page reproduction costs, in the amount of: $42.25 for the CWA
Action Consent Decree; $24.50 for the NRD Action Consent Decree; or
$66.75 for both.
Joel M. Gross,
Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural
Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 98-24989 Filed 9-17-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M
