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

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Pursuant to the Comprehensive

Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

Notice is hereby given that a proposed consent decree embodying a

partial settlement in United States v. Allied-Signal, Inc., Civil

Action No. 93-6490 MRP, was lodged on February 18, 1997, with the

United States District Court for the Central District of California.

The decree resolves the liability of the settling defendants for

reimbursement of response costs incurred pursuant to the Comprehensive

Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (``CERCLA''),

42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq., by the United States Environmental

Protection Agency (``EPA'') at the North Hollywood Operable Unit

(``NHOU'') of the San Fernando Valley Basin Superfund Site (``SFVB''),

in the greater Los Angeles area. The settling defendants and third-

party defendants, AlliedSignal, Inc.; Hawker Pacific, Inc.; Los Angeles

By-Products Company, Inc.; California Car Hikers Service; Gordon N. and

Peggy M. Wagner; Joseph W. Basinger; Parker-Hannifin Corporation;

Inchcape, Inc.; Crown Disposal Company, Inc.; Western Waste Industries,

Inc.; Browning-Ferris Industries, Inc.; E.I. DuPont De Nemours, Inc.;

HR Textron, Inc.; AVX Filters Corporation; Price Pfister, Inc.; Nupla

Corporation; Herman and Isabel Benjamin; and the Benjamin Family Trust,

have agreed to pay a total of $4,812,500 to the United States to

resolve their liability for past and future NHOU response costs and

past SFVB Basin-wide costs through April 30, 1992.

The consent decree includes a covenant not to sue under Sections

106 and 107 of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. Secs. 9606, 9607, and under Section

7003 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (``RCRA''), 42

U.S.C. Sec. 6973.

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

[[Page 9451]]

Natural Resources Division, Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.

20530, and should refer to United States v. Allied-Signal, Inc., DOJ

Ref. #90-11-3-1149. Commenters may request a public hearing in the

affected area, pursuant to Section 7003(d) of RCRA, 42 U.S.C.

Sec. 6973(d).

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

United States Attorney, Central District of California, Federal

Building, Room 7516, 300 North Los Angeles Street, Los Angeles,

California 90012; 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 $23.00 (25 cents per page reproduction costs),

payable to the Consent Decree Library.

Joel Gross

Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural

Resources Division.

[FR Doc. 97-5154 Filed 2-28-97; 8:45 am]

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