80 FR 37016 - Notice of Filing Proposed Bankruptcy Settlement Agreement Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Federal Register Volume 80, Issue 124 (June 29, 2015)

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 124 (Monday, June 29, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 37016-37017]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2015-15808]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Filing Proposed Bankruptcy Settlement Agreement Under 
the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act

    On June 22, 2015, the Debtors filed a proposed Settlement Agreement 
with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of 
Mississippi in the bankruptcy proceedings of Mississippi Phosphates 
Corporation (``MPC''), et al., Chap. 11, Bankruptcy Case No. 14-51667--
KMS (USBC S.D. Miss.).
    The Settlement Agreement provides for a covenant not to sue by EPA 
and the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (referred to 
collectively as ``Environmental Agencies'') under the Resource 
Conservation and Recovery Act (``RCRA''), the Clean Air Act (``CAA''), 
the Clean Water Act (``CWA''), and the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (``CERCLA'') against MPC, its 
subsidiaries, Ammonia Tank Subsidiary, Inc. and Sulfuric Acid tank

[[Page 37017]]

Subsidiary, Inc, (collectively ``Debtors''), MPC's non-debtor parent 
Phosphate Holdings Inc. (``PHI''), and the Lenders of the Debtors for 
environmental conditions at MPC's Facility in Pascagoula, Mississippi 
(the ``Facility''), and for possible related causes of action against 
the Lenders for fraud, equitable subordination and debt 
recharacterization.
    The Settlement Agreement, in general terms, provides: (a) Either 
(i) a sales process for all or substantially all of the assets of the 
bankruptcy estates, which will result in the assumption of 
environmental liabilities to the Environmental Agencies related to the 
Debtors' assets, including satisfaction of the financial assurance 
requirements of the Environmental Agencies under non-bankruptcy law or, 
(ii) in the alternative, a transfer of the assets of the bankruptcy 
estates to two trusts (the Liquidation Trust and Environmental Trust) 
one of which, the Liquidation Trust, receives substantially all assets 
other than the phosphogypsum stacks (``Gyp Stacks'') to market for sale 
with a distribution structure for sales proceeds for payment of the 
claims of the Lenders, and for funding environmental actions taken by 
the Environmental Trust (which takes ownership of the Gyp Stacks), and 
for distribution to the bankruptcy estates.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the Settlement Agreement. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and 
should refer to In re Mississippi Phosphates Corporation, D.J. Ref. No. 
90-7-1-08388/18. All comments must be submitted no later than fifteen 
(15) 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 email............................  [email protected].
By mail.............................  Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
                                       DOJ-ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
                                       Washington, DC 20044-7611.
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    Under section 7003(d) of RCRA, a commenter may request an 
opportunity for a public meeting in the affected area.
    During the public comment period, the Settlement Agreement 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 Settlement Agreement 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 $19.25 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.

Maureen Katz,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2015-15808 Filed 6-26-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-15-P