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[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 222 (Thursday, November 16, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69338-69339]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-29291]

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Morton International, Inc.; Consent Judgment

    In accordance with Departmental policy, 28 CFR 50.7, notice is 
hereby given that on October 26, 2000 a proposed Consent Decree in 
United States and State of Mississippi v. Morton International, Inc., 
Civil Action No. 1:00CV501 (BrR) was lodged with the United States 
District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi, Biloxi 
Division.
    In this action the United States and State of Mississippi allege 
that the Morton International, Inc. (hereafter Morton or defendant) is 
liable under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Safe Drinking Water Act 
(SDWA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Clean Air Act (CAA), the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act 
(CERCLA), the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act 
(EPCRA), and the Mississippi Solid Waste Disposal Law of 1974, the 
Mississippi Air and Water Pollution Control Law, and the organic act of 
the Commission and of the Mississippi Department of Environmental 
Quality (MDEQ) for penalties and injunctive relief in connection with 
the defendant's manufacturing facility

[[Page 69339]]

located in Moss Point, Jackson County, Mississippi.
    This consent decree represents a settlement between the United 
States, State of Mississippi and Morton. The consent decree requires 
Morton to: (1) Pay a penalty of $20 million, with $10 million being 
paid to the United States and $10 million being paid to the State of 
Mississippi, (2) perform Supplemental Environmental Projects (SEPs) 
valued at $16 million, (3) conduct a comprehensive analysis of 
conditions at the Facility, and (4) perform, if necessary, corrective 
measures at the Facility. In addition, the consent decree provides for 
audits to be conducted by a third party or parties at Morton chemical 
plants acquired by Rohm & Haas in 1999.
    The SEPs include a Plant SEP which requires Morton to reduce or 
eliminate pollutants and to strive to terminate injection into deep 
wells as a method of disposal, a community SEP which provides for the 
rehabilitation or replacement of lateral sewer lines in the City of 
Moss Point, Mississippi, and the funding of a ``Green Chemistry'' 
project at the University of Southern Mississippi's School of Polymer 
Science. The Green Chemistry project is intended to develop 
architectural coatings which contain plant oils rather than volatile 
organic compounds. The community lateral line project will address 
inflow and infiltration which contributes to sewage overflows that 
plague Moss Point.
    The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication comments relating to the 
proposed Second Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and natural resources 
Division, U.S. Department of Justice, P.O. box 7611, Washington, D.C. 
20044, and should refer to United States and State of Mississippi v. 
Morton International, Inc., D.J. Ref. 90-7-1-06413. Commenters may 
request an opportunity for a public meeting in the affected area, in 
accordance with Section 7003(d) of the Resource Conservation and 
Recovery Act (``RCRA''), 42 U.S.C. 6973(d).
    The proposed Consent Decree may be examined at the Office of the 
United States Attorney, Southern District of Mississippi, 808 Vieux 
Marche, 2nd Floor, Biloxi, Mississippi 39501; and at Region 4, Office 
of the Environmental Protection Agency, Atlanta Federal Center, 61 
Forsyth Street, S.W., Atlanta, Georgia 30303. A copy of the proposed 
Consent Decree may be obtained by mail from the Department of Justice 
Consent Decree Library, P.O. box 7611, Washington, D.C. 20044. In 
requesting a copy, please enclose a check in the amount of $26.25 
(without exhibits), $77.75 (with exhibits) (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the Treasurer of the United States.

Walker Smith,
Deputy Chief, Environment and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 00-29291 Filed 11-15-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M
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