80 FR 13631 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 50 (March 16, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 50 (Monday, March 16, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 13631-13632]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-05917]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act

    On March 9, 2015, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the District 
of Puerto Rico in the lawsuit United States v. Total Petroleum Puerto 
Rico Corp., Civil Action No. 3:15-cv-01201.
    This settlement resolves the United States' allegations that 
Defendant Total Petroleum Puerto Rico Corp. (``Total Puerto Rico'') 
violated the Resource Conservation and Recovery (``Act'') and the 
Puerto Rico Underground Storage Tank Control Regulations (``PRUSTR'') 
at thirty-one facilities in Puerto Rico, and the Act and its 
implementing regulations set forth at 40 CFR part 280 at four 
facilities in the U.S. Virgin Islands, all of which contain underground 
storage tanks (``USTs'') owned by Total Puerto Rico. The United States' 
claims against Total Puerto Rico stem from the company's alleged 
failure to report and investigate suspected releases; to monitor for 
releases; to provide adequate overfill prevention and corrosion 
protection equipment; to secure dispensers and lines when facilities 
are temporarily closed; to secure monitoring wells; and to maintain 
records of release detection monitoring.
    The proposed Consent Decree resolves these allegations by requiring 
that Total Puerto Rico pay a $426,000 penalty, implement injunctive 
relief valued at approximately $1,000,000, and undertake a Supplemental 
Environmental Project (``SEP'') valued at approximately $600,000. As 
part of the injunctive relief, Total Puerto Rico will install, or 
upgrade to, fully automated electronic release detection monitoring 
equipment at 137 facilities with Total-owned USTs in active operation. 
This obligation to install automated release detection monitoring 
equipment, which provide the best available method of release 
detection, will extend to any additional facilities with actively 
operating USTs acquired by Total Puerto Rico after the date of lodging 
of the Consent Decree. As part of the SEP, Total Puerto Rico will 
install a centralized monitoring system (CMS) for at least 125 of its 
facilities with actively

[[Page 13632]]

operating USTs. The CMS technology will enable Total Puerto Rico to 
rapidly respond to potential releases because it transmits to and 
collects at one central location the information gathered from each 
facility equipped with electronic release detection monitoring 
equipment.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and 
should refer to United States v. Total Petroleum Puerto Rico Corp., 
D.O.J. Ref. No. 90-7-1-10435. All comments must be submitted no later 
than thirty (30) days after the publication date of this notice. 
Comments may be submitted either by email or by mail:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
         To submit comments:                     Send them to:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
By email............................  [email protected].
By mail.............................  Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
                                       DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
                                       Washington, DC 20044-7611.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    During the public comment period, the Consent Decree may be 
examined and downloaded at this Justice Department Web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. We will provide a paper copy 
of the Consent Decree upon written request and payment of reproduction 
costs. Please mail your request and payment to:
    Consent Decree Library, U.S. DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, 
DC 20044-7611.
    Please enclose a check or money order for $14.25 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury. For a paper 
copy without the exhibits and signature pages, the cost is $10.75.

Maureen Katz,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2015-05917 Filed 3-13-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P