82 FR 18482 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Settlement Agreement Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act and Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Federal Register Volume 82, Issue 74 (April 19, 2017)

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 74 (Wednesday, April 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18482-18483]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07905]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Settlement Agreement Under the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
and Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code

    On April 13, 2017, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Settlement Agreement with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the 
District of Maine in In re: Lincoln Paper and Tissue, LLC, No. 15-10715 
PGC. The agreement was entered into by the United States, on behalf of 
the United States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA''), the debtor 
Lincoln Paper and Tissue, LLC (``Debtor''), and the Maine Department of 
Environmental Protection (``MDEP'').
    The agreement relates to liabilities of the Debtor under the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act 
of 1980, 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq. (``CERCLA''), in connection with the 
275-acre paper mill owned by the Debtor in Lincoln, Maine 
(``Facility''). Pursuant to the agreement's terms, the Debtor has 
agreed to implement certain removal actions at the Facility, including 
the removal of drums and containers of hazardous substances and 
hazardous wastes, the removal of radioactive signs, and the removal of 
friable asbestos. The Debtor has also agreed to pay EPA the difference 
between the cost of these removal actions (expected to be about 
$250,000) and $400,000. The Debtor has also agreed that if the estate's 
net recoveries in the bankruptcy proceeding (other than insurance 
recoveries related to environmental claims) exceed $500,000, the Debtor 
will pay EPA 25% of the excess, with an overall cap of $225,000. With 
respect to insurance proceeds for environmental claims, the Debtor has 
agreed to pay EPA 50% of any net proceeds over $400,000, with no cap on 
the amount. MDEP has agreed that an escrow account of $50,000, which 
was set aside by the Debtor earlier in the bankruptcy case for the 
benefit of any remediation sought by MDEP at the Facility, will be paid 
to EPA to help defray EPA's removal costs at the Facility. MDEP has 
signed the Settlement Agreement due to this aspect of the settlement. 
The Debtor has also agreed that EPA will have an allowed general 
unsecured claim in the amount of the removal costs that will be 
incurred by EPA at the Facility, minus certain cash payments to be made 
by the Debtor to EPA, with a cap of $1.5 million.

[[Page 18483]]

    The United States, on behalf of EPA, has provided the Debtor with a 
covenant not to sue, under Sections 106 and 107 of CERCLA, with respect 
to the Facility, as well as a property located adjacent to the Facility 
(the ``Excluded Area''), as well as those areas of the Penobscot River 
where hazardous substances from the Facility or the Excluded Area have 
come to be located. The covenant also applies to the Debtor's 
successors and assigns, former and current officers, directors, 
employees, and trustees, but only to the extent that the alleged 
liability of the successor or assign, officer, director, employee, or 
trustee is based solely on his, her or its status and on his, her or 
its capacity as a successor or assign, officer, director, employee or 
trustee of the Debtor.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the Agreement. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney 
General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and should refer 
to In re: Lincoln Paper and Tissue, LLC, No. 15-10715 PGC, D.J. Ref. 
No. 90-11-3-11537. 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 email............................  [email protected].
By mail.............................  Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
                                       DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
                                       Washington, DC 20044-7611.
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    During the public comment period, the Agreement may be examined and 
downloaded at this Justice Department Web site: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. We will provide a paper copy of 
the 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 $19.75 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.

Robert E. Maher, Jr.,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2017-07905 Filed 4-18-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P