[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 149 (Tuesday, August 4, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41592-41593]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-20680]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Pursuant to the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

    In accordance with Departmental policy, 28 CFR 50.7, and 42 U.S.C. 
9622(d), notice is hereby given that on July 2, 1998, the United 
States, on behalf of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 
filed with the United States District Court for the Western District of 
Washington a civil complaint against defendants Charles and Helen Van 
Volkenburg and Pacific Yacht Basin d/b/a Port Yacht Basin, under 
Section 106 and 107 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response 
Compensation and Liability Act (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. 9606 & 9607. The 
complaint alleges that the defendants are liable under Sections 106 and 
107 of CERCLA for releases of hazardous substances into the Middle 
Waterway of the Commencement Bay Nearshore/Tideflats Superfund Site in 
Tacoma, Washington (``the Middle Waterway of the Site'').
    On the same day, the United States lodged a consent decree 
resolving the claims stated against the defendants in the complaint. 
The consent decree embodies a de minimis settlement with the defendants 
under Section 122(g) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9622(g). The United States 
has determined that the amount and toxicity of any hazardous substances 
the defendants may have contributed to the Middle Waterway of the Site 
is minimal in comparison to other contaminants in the Middle Waterway. 
Under the consent decree,

[[Page 41593]]

the defendants will provide access to their property on the Middle 
Waterway of the Site. In return, the United States will grant the 
defendants a covenant not to sue under Sections 106 and 107 of CERCLA, 
42 U.S.C. 9606 & 9607, for liability for releases of hazardous 
substances at the Middle Waterway of the Site.
    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 decree. Comments should be addressed to Lois Schiffer, 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530, and should refer to 
United States v. Port Yacht Basin, et al., No. C98-5362 (W.D. Wash. 
1998), DOJ Ref. #90-11-2-06008.
    A copy of the proposed consent decree may be obtained from the 
Region 10 offices of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, 
1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, Washington 98101. Copies 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 of the consent decree, please refer to United States 
v. Port Yacht Basin, et al. If you are requesting a copy from the 
Consent Decree Library, please enclose a check payable to the Consent 
Decree Library in the amount of $3.75 (25 cents per page reproduction 
costs).
Joel Gross,
Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural 
Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 98-20680 Filed 8-3-98; 8:45 am]
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