Proposed De Minimis Settlement Under Section 122(g) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act; in the Matter of American Chemical Services

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-5084-3]

Proposed De Minimis Settlement Under Section 122(g) of the

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act;

in the Matter of American Chemical Services

AGENCY: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: Notice of De Minimis Settlement: in accordance with Section

122(i) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and

Liability Act of 1980, as amended (``CERCLA''), notice is hereby given

of a de minimis settlement concerning past and estimated future

response actions at the American Chemical Services (ACS) Site in

Griffith, Indiana. U.S. EPA Region 5 has submitted the proposed

agreement to the U.S. Department of Justice for review concurrent with

this request for public comment. This settlement will not be finalized

until the approval process set forth in Section 122(g)(4) of CERCLA has

been completed.

DATES: Comments must be provided on or before November 2, 1994.

ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to the Docket Clerk, Mail Code

MFA-10J, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson

Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois, 60604, and should refer to: In the Matter

of American Chemical Services.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Steven Siegel, Mail Code CS-29A, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 959 Respondents and the State of Indiana

executed binding certifications of their consent to participate in the

settlement. The settlement may be amended to add additional parties.

The Respondents will pay approximately $23,649,894.84 in settlement

payments for response costs related to the American Chemical Services

Site, including past response costs incurred by the State of Indiana,

if the United States Environmental Protection Agency determines that it

will not withdraw or withhold its consent to the proposed settlement

after consideration of comments submitted pursuant to this office.

U.S. EPA may enter into this settlement under the authority of

Section 122(g) of CERCLA. Section 122(g) authorizes de minimis

settlements with potentially responsible parties (``PRPs'') that

contributed hazardous substances to a site where those contributions

were small and where the toxicity of the substances contributed is not

significantly different from the other substances brought to the site.

Pursuant to this authority, the agreement proposes to settle with

generator parties whose individual volume of hazardous substances sent

to site does not exceed .08% of the total amount of hazardous

substances sent to the site. Settling de minimis PRPs will be required

to pay their fair share of the past and estimated future response costs

at the site based on a payment of $3.76 per pound of hazardous

substances that the party contributed to the Site. Certain reduction

factors were applied in determining the pounds sent by each company

based upon the operations of the ACS facility at different time

periods. Some participants in the settlement also have presented

ability to pay issues and have settled on that basis. The estimated

future response costs account for potential cost overruns, the

potential for failure of the remedies selected to clean up the site,

and other risks.

A copy of the proposed administrative order on consent and

additional background information relating to the settlement, including

a list of parties to the settlement, are available for review and may

be obtained in person or by mail from Steven Siegel, Mail Code CS-29A,

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,

Chicago, Illinois 60604.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will receive written

comments relating to the settlement for thirty days from the date of

publication of this notice.

Authority: The Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation and Liability Act of 1980, as amended, 42 U.S.C.

Sections 9601 et seq.

Identification of Documents: Proposed De Minimis Settlement:

American Chemical Services Site.

William E. Muno,

Director, Waste Management Division.

[FR Doc. 94-24413 Filed 9-30-94; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-M