Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Pursuant to the Clean Air Act

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Pursuant to the Clean Air Act

In accordance with Departmental policy, 28 C.F.R. Sec. 50.7, notice

is hereby given that a proposed consent decree in United States v.

Merck & Co., Inc., Civil Action No. 96-1537-E (S.D. Cal.), was lodged

on September 5, 1996 with the United States District Court for the

Southern District of California. In the complaint in that action, the

United States seeks from defendants Merck & Co., Inc. and Monsanto

Company civil penalties and injunctive relief under Section 113(b) of

the Clean Air Act (the ``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(b), for their

violations of the California State Implementation Plan by failing to:

obtain authority to construct permits, apply lowest achievable

emissions rates, and provide offsets for increased emissions, relating

to modifications of the Kelco facility in San Diego, California.

The proposed consent decree requires the defendants to perform

specified injunctive relief by installing new emissions control

equipment at two portions of the facility to control volatile organic

compounds, to perform two supplemental environmental projects to

further control fugitive emissions at one portion of the facility, and

a monitoring project at another portion of the facility, and to pay a

civil penalty of $1,857,395.

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 for the Environment and Natural Resources Division,

U.S. Department of Justice, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, D.C. 20044; and

refer to United States v. Merck & Co., Inc., DOJ Ref. # 90-5-2-1-1982.

The proposed consent decree may be examined at the office of the

United States Attorney, Southern District of California, 880 Front

Street, San Diego, California 92101; at the Region IX office of the

Environmental Protection Agency, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco,

California 94105; and at the Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street,

N.W., 4th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005, (202) 624-0892. A copy of the

proposed consent decree may be obtained in person or by mail from the

Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street, N.W., 4th Floor, Washington,

D.C. 20005. In requesting a copy please refer to the referenced case

and enclose a check in the amount of $17.00 (25 cents

[[Page 48503]]

per page reproduction costs), payable to the Consent Decree Library.

Walker Smith,

Deputy Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and

Natural Resources Division.

[FR Doc. 96-23492 Filed 9-12-96; 8:45 am]

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