Notice of Lodging of Settlement Agreement in In Re Montgomery Ward Holding Company Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 57 (Thursday, March 25, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14466-14467]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-7287]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Settlement Agreement in In Re Montgomery 
Ward Holding Company Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, 
Compensation, and Liability Act

    Notice is hereby given that a Settlement Agreement (``Agreement'') 
in In re Montgomery Ward Holding Corp., et al., No. 97-1409 (PJW) 
(Bankr. D. Del.), has been entered into by the United States on behalf 
of U.S. EPA, U.S. DOI, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration (``NOAA'') of the United States Department of Commerce, 
the State of California, and Montgomery Ward & Co., Incorporated and 
certain of its subsidiaries (collectively the ``Debtors'') and was 
lodged with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of 
Delaware on March 10, 1999. The agreement relates to liabilities under 
the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability 
Act (``CERCLA''), 42 U.S.C. Secs. 9601 et seq. The Agreement resolves 
CERCLA claims against the Debtors for the following forty-seven (47) 
hazardous waste sites, denominated as ``Liquidated Sites'' under the 
Agreement: the American Chemical Services Site in Griffith, Indiana; 
the Arcanum Iron and Metal Site in Arcanum, Ohio; the Arrowhead Site in 
Hermantown, Minnesota; the Auburn Incinerator Site in Auburn, Indiana; 
the Batavia Landfill Site in Batavia, New York; the Bay Drum Site in 
Tampa, Florida; the Bypass 601 Site in Concord, North Carolina; the 
Casmalia Site in Casmalia, Santa Barbara County, California; the 
Calumet Container Site in Cook County, Illinois; the Cam-Or Site in 
Westville, Indiana; the Chemical Control Site in Elizabeth, New Jersey; 
the Chemical Recycling Site in Wylie, Texas; the Coakley Landfill Site 
in North Hampton, New Hampshire; the Combustion Inc. Site in Livingston 
Parish, Louisiana; the Doepke Disposal Site in Johnson County, Kansas; 
the Ekotek Site in Salt Lake City, Utah; the Envirochem Site in 
Zionsville, Indiana; the Envirochem (Third Site) in Zionsville, 
Indiana; the Gould Site in Portland, Oregon; the Brand Trunk Site in 
Battle Creek, Michigan; the Great Lakes Asphalt Site in Zionsville, 
Indiana; the H. Brown Site in Walker, Michigan; the Hardage Site in 
Criner, Oklahoma; the Huth Oil Site in Cleveland, Ohio; the Lenz Oil 
Site in Lemont, Illinois; the Liquid Disposal Site in Shelby Township, 
Michigan; the Miami County Incinerator Site in Troy, Ohio; the New Lyme 
Site in New Lyme, Ohio; the Ninth Avenue Dump Site in Gary, Indiana; 
the Operating Industries Site in Los Angeles, California; the PSC 
Resources Site in Palmer, Massachusetts; the Peak Oil Site in Tampa, 
Florida; the Petroleum Products Corp. Site in Pembroke Park, Florida; 
the Purity Oil Site in Malaga, California; the SAAD Superfund Site in 
Nashville, Tennessee; the Sapp Battery Salvage Site in Alford, Florida; 
the Seaboard Chemical Site in Jamestown, North Carolina; the Sidney 
Mine Site in Hillsborough County, Florida; the Standard Steel Site in 
Anchorage, Alaska; the Thermo Chem Inc. Site in Muskegon, Michigan; the 
Tri-County/Elgin Landfill Site in Kane County, Illinois, the Torrington 
Hide & Metal Site and the Smith Residence Site in Goshen County, 
Wyoming; the U.S. Scrap Site in Chicago, Illinois; the Waste Inc. Site 
in Michigan City, Indiana; the Wayne Reclamation and Recycling, Inc. 
Site in Columbia City, Indiana; the Yeoman Creek Site in Waukegan, 
Illinois; and the York Oil Site in Moira, New York.
    Under the Agreement, the Debtors have agreed to allowed claims in 
the total amount of $4,611,683 for these sites as specified in the 
Agreement. Of this amount, EPA, or PRPs doing work for EPA under 
consent decrees with EPA, will have allowed claims for $4,234,761, DOI 
will have an allowed claim of $350,222, NOAA will have allowed claim of 
$20,000 and California

[[Page 14467]]

will have an allowed claim of $6,700. The Agreement also contains 
provisions pertaining to the treatment of three other categories of 
sites: Debtor-Owned Sites, Work Consent Decree Sites, and Additional 
Sites.
    The Department of Justice will receive comments relating to the 
proposed Agreement for 30 days following the publication of this 
Notice. 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 In re Montgomery 
Ward Holding Corp., D.J. Ref. No. 90-11-2-1321.
    The proposed Agreement may be examined at the Office of the United 
States Attorney for the District of Delaware, 1201 Market Street, Suite 
1100, Chemical Bank Plaza, Wilmington, DE 19899-2046; the United States 
Environmental Protection Agency, 401 M Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 
20460; and at the Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street, N.W., 3rd 
Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005 (202-624-0892). A copy of the proposed 
Agreement may be obtained in person or by mail from the Consent Decree 
Library, 1120 G Street, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005. In 
requesting a copy of the proposed Amended Settlement Agreement, please 
enclose a check in the amount of $12.50 (25 cents per page for 
reproduction costs), payable to the Consent Decree Library.
Joel M. Gross,
Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 99-7287 Filed 3-24-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M