80 FR 35675 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA)

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 119 (June 22, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 119 (Monday, June 22, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 35675]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15205]



[[Page 35675]]

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act 
(CERCLA)

    On June 16, 2015, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the District 
of Arizona in the lawsuit entitled United States v. Burr-Brown 
Corporation (now Texas Instruments Tucson Corporation), Civil Action 
No. 89-594-TUC-RMB. On the same date, the State of Arizona lodged the 
same proposed Consent Decree with the United States District Court for 
the District of Arizona in the lawsuit entitled State of Arizona v. 
Texas Instruments Tucson Corporation, Civil Action No. 4:15-cv-00257-
DCB. The United States has filed a motion to consolidate the two 
actions, and the State of Arizona and Texas Instruments Tucson 
Corporation (``TI'') have consented to that motion.
    TI is working under an existing consent decree, entered in 1990 in 
Civil Action No. 89-594-TUC-RMB (``1990 Decree''), to perform a CERCLA 
response action to address contaminated groundwater on part of the 
Tucson International Airport Authority Superfund Site (``TIAA Site'') 
in Tucson, Arizona. The TIAA Site includes the Tucson International 
Airport, Air Force Plant 44, and several other adjacent areas. The 
proposed Consent Decree addresses only the TI portion of Area ``B'' of 
the TIAA Site (``Project Area''). Other areas of the TIAA Site are 
being addressed under separate federal facility agreements, consent 
decrees and fund-lead remedial actions. The Project Area was operated 
by TI's predecessor-in-interest, Burr-Brown Corporation. Operations 
included microchip manufacturing and involved chemical storage and 
disposal. In 2013, TI sold the Project Area to HSL TI Properties, which 
does not use it for industrial purposes.
    The 1990 Decree contains provisions that the parties would like to 
amend as TI begins to implement an amended Record of Decision 
(``Amended ROD''). At the same time, the Arizona Department of 
Environmental Quality (``ADEQ'') would like to resolve its claims under 
state law with TI, and to participate in oversight of the remedy.
    The proposed Consent Decree, which would supersede the 1990 Decree, 
would implement the Amended ROD, add the State of Arizona as a party, 
and resolve its claims under state law. Under the Consent Decree, TI 
commits to perform the work set out in the Amended ROD, and to pay the 
United States its Response Costs and the State its State Future 
Response Costs, as those terms are defined in the Consent Decree. The 
Consent Decree contains covenants not the sue by the United States and 
the State for the performance of the Work and for recovery of Response 
Costs and State Future Response Costs, and by TI for all claims related 
to the Project Area and the Consent Decree. The Consent Decree provides 
TI with the standard contribution protection for ``matters addressed'' 
in the Consent Decree: Work, Response Costs, and State Future Response 
Costs.
    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. Burr-Brown Corporation (now Texas 
Instruments Tucson Corporation, D.J. Ref. No. 90-11-3-369. 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:

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         To submit comments:                     Send them to:
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By e-mail...........................  [email protected].
By mail.............................  Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
                                       DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
                                       Washington, D.C. 20044-7611.
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    During the public comment period, the Consent Decree may be 
examined and downloaded at this Justice Department Web site: http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. 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 $47.00 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury. For a paper 
copy without the exhibits, the cost is $21.25.

Maureen Katz,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2015-15205 Filed 6-19-15; 8:45 am]
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