[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 244 (Wednesday, December 20, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Page 65669]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-30846]



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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    In accordance with Department of Justice Policy, 28 C.F.R. 
Sec. 50.7, 38 Fed. Reg. 19029, and 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9622(d), notice is 
hereby given that on November 30, 1995, a proposed amendment to a 
Consent Decree was lodged with the United States District Court for the 
Western District of Washington in United States v. Simpson Tacoma Kraft 
Co., Civil Action No. C91-5260TC. The proposed amendment to the Consent 
Decree, Amendment No. 1, settles claims asserted by federal, state, and 
tribal natural resources trustees against the Settling Defendants for 
damages to natural resources in the Commencement Bay Environment. The 
trustees for natural resources in Commencement Bay are the National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Department of the 
Interior (DOI) (the federal trustees); the State of Washington; the 
Puyallup Tribe of Indians; and the Muckleshoot Indian Tribe. The 
Settling Defendants involved in Amendment No. 1 to the decree are 
Simpson Tacoma Kraft Company (Simpson) and Champion International 
Corporation (Champion). The Washington State Department of Natural 
Resources (DNR), which was a party to the original consent decree, is 
not involved in the settlement set forth in Amendment No. 1 to the 
decree.
    Under the original consent decree, entered by the Court on December 
13, 1991, the natural resource trustees for the Commencement Bay 
Nearshore/Tideflats Superfund Site (CB N/T Site) settled claims for 
natural resource damages in the St. Paul Waterway Problem Area, one 
subpart of the CB N/T Site against Simpson, Champion, and DNR. 
Amendment No. 1 extends the natural resource damages settlement with 
Simpson and Champion to encompass the Commencement Bay Environment, 
which consists of the CB N/T Site plus areas of Commencement Bay 
between the Site and a line drawn from Point Defiance to Dash Point, 
points at either side of the mouth of the Bay.
    Under the Amendment to the Consent Decree, the Settling Defendants 
will pay for most of the costs associated with a habitat restoration 
project (the Restoration Project) in the Middle Waterway in the CB N/T 
Site. Simpson has provided a 3.3 acre piece of property along the 
Middle Waterway for the Restoration Project, and will construct the 
Restoration Project. Simpson will also pay all but $275,000 of the 
costs of constructing, monitoring, and maintaining the Restoration 
Project. In addition, Simpson and Champion will reimburse $75,000 of 
the Trustee assessment costs for the Site. The total value of the 
settlement under Amendment No. 1 is approximately $1 million.
    In return for the commitments made by Simpson and Champion in the 
Consent Decree Amendment, the United States, the State of Washington, 
and the Indian Tribe co-trustees are providing a covenant not to sue 
the companies for damages to natural resources with respect to the 
Commencement Bay Environment. Specifically, the Trustees are providing 
a covenant not to sue for claims under Sections 106 and 107 of the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
(CERCLA), 42 U.S.C. 9606 and 9607; Section 311 of the Clean Water Act 
(CWA), 33 U.S.C. 1321; Chapters 70.105d and 90.48 of the Revised Code 
of Washington (the State of Washington's Model Toxics Control Act and 
the state water pollution control statute); and claims under any other 
federal, state, tribal, or common law for damages for injury to, 
destruction of, or loss of natural resources, and claims for recovery 
of Past Response Costs, Oversight Response Costs, and Future Response 
Costs incurred by the Natural Resource Trustees with respect to the 
Commencement Bay Environment.
    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. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources 
Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530, and 
should refer to United Statesv. Simpson Tacoma Kraft Co., D.J. Ref. No. 
90-11-3-363.
    The proposed Amendment No. 1 to the Consent Decree and exhibits to 
the amendment may be examined at the following locations: the Region 10 
Office of EPA, 7th Floor Records Center, 1200 Sixth Avenue, Seattle, WA 
98101; the Tacoma Public Library, Main Branch, 1102 Tacoma Avenue 
South, Northwest Room, Tacoma, WA 98402; and Citizens for a Healthy 
Bay, 771 Broadway, Tacoma, WA 98402. The complete Administrative Record 
for the Ruston/North Tacoma Study Area may be reviewed at the EPA 
Region 10 office in Seattle and at the Main Branch of the Tacoma Public 
Library.
    A copy of Amendment No. 1 and exhibits (if requested) may 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 $6.75 
(without exhibits) or $48.50 (with exhibits) (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the ``Consent Decree Library.''
Bruce Gelber,
Acting Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 95-30846 Filed 12-19-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-01-M