Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 142 (Monday, July 26, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 40390]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-19006]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act

    Pursuant to Section 122(d)(2) of the Comprehensive Environmental 
Response, Compensation and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 9622(d)(2), and 28 
CFR 50.7, notice is hereby given that on June 30, 1999, a proposed 
Consent Decree in United States v. Bronson Plating Company, et al. 
Civil Action No. 1:99-CV-490, was lodged with the United States 
District Court for the Western District of Michigan for a period of 
thirty days to facilitate public comment.
    The settlement embodied in the proposed Consent Decree requires the 
settling defendants, Bronson Plating Company, the City of Bronson, ITT 
Automotive, Inc., L.A. Darling Company, and The Scott Fetzer Company 
(the ``Settling Defendants''), to implement the estimated $4 million 
remedy selected by EPA for the first of two operable units for the 
North Bronson Industrial Area Site (``Site''), located in Branch 
County, Michigan Site. The Settling Defendants also agree to pay the 
United States $1,629,114.88 for past response costs through March 31, 
1997, as well as future costs of overseeing the implementation of the 
remedial action. The remedy for the first operable unit includes 
excavating contaminated eastern lagoon soil and sludge and covering 
this area with clean soil; dredging sediment from County Drain #30; 
consolidating contaminated waste from the eastern lagoons and County 
Drain #30 in the western lagoons; covering the western lagoons; 
installing a French Drain between the western lagoons and county Drain 
#30 to capture contaminated groundwater; and treating contaminated 
groundwater in a treatment wetland before discharging the water into 
County Drain #30. The selected remedy also includes monitoring 
groundwater and surface water quality; placing institutional controls 
on the western lagoon area and the treatment wetland; and placing 
restrictions on future groundwater use throughout the Site.
    The past cost payment includes a settlement with the City of 
Bronson (``the City'') based on its ability to pay, which will pay 
$118,074 plus interest over a three-year period. The Consent Decree 
further includes a settlement of a natural resource damages claim of 
the U.S. Department of the Interior (``DOI''), for either a cash 
payment of $100,000, plus DOI's assessment costs, or an agreement to 
conduct compensatory restoration by acquiring replacement habitat of at 
least 20 acres within the State of Michigan, and to pay DOI's oversight 
assessment costs.
    The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication comments relating to the 
proposed Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20530, and should refer to United 
States v. Bronson Plating, et al., DOJ No. 90-11-2-1311.
    The Consent Decree may be examined at the Office of the United 
States Attorney, Western District of Michigan, 330 Ionia Avenue, Grand 
Rapids, Michigan 49503, at the Region 5 Office of the United States 
Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, IL 
60604-3590, and at the Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street, NW, 3rd 
Floor, Washington, DC 20005. A copy of the Consent Decree may be 
obtained in person or by mail from the Consent Decree Library, 1120 G 
Street, NW, 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20005. In requesting a copy, 
please refer to the above-referenced case and enclose a check in the 
amount of $22.00 (25 cents per page reproduction cost, without 
exhibits) payable to the Consent Decree Library.
Bruce S. Gelber,
Deputy Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 99-19006 Filed 7-23-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M