Notice of Preliminary Approval of Settlement Agreement

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Notice of Preliminary Approval of Settlement Agreement

In accordance with 28 CFR 50.7(b), notice is hereby given that a

proposed

[[Page 40542]]

Settlement Agreement in Sarah Yules v. United States of America, Civil

Action No. 95-10256-WGY (D. Mass.), was preliminarily approved by the

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts on June

19, 1998. Final approval of the proposed Settlement Agreement is

subject to the requirements of 28 CFR 50.7.

In this case, Plaintiffs Sarah Yules and Sandra Faxon, acting for

themselves and on behalf of proposed class of persons in the Town of

Mashpee, Massachusetts, whose drinking water supplies had been

contaminated or threatened by pollutants allegedly emanating from the

Massachusetts Military Reservation, Barnstable County, Massachusetts

(``MMR''), filed suit in 1995 against, among others, the United States

Department of Defense and the United States National Guard Bureau

(``the federal defendants''). The suit asserted claims under the

Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act,

the Resource Recovery and Conservation Act, the Federal Clean Water

Act, the Federal Tort Claims Act, and state law. Plaintiffs sought,

among other things, an injunction requiring the federal defendants to

abate any endangerment caused by the alleged discharge of pollutants

from the MMR by connecting class members to the public water supply.

The United States and Plaintiffs have now reached agreement on the

terms of a settlement of the claims in this case. The Department of

Justice will receive written comments on the proposed Settlement

Agreement for a period of 30 days from the date of publication of this

notice. Comments should be addressed to Joshua E. Swift, U.S.

Department of Justice, Environment & Natural Resources Division,

Environmental Defense Section, P.O. Box 23986, Washington, DC 20026,

and refer to Sarah Yules v. United States of America, Civil Action No.

95-10246-WGY (D. Mass.), DJ# 90-11-3-1506.

The Settlement Agreement may be examined at the Clerk's Office,

United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, 90

Devonshire Street, Room 607, Boston, Massachusetts (617-223-9152), or

at the offices of Plaintiffs' counsel, Shapiro, Haber & Urmy, 75 State

Street, Boston, Massachusetts (617-439-3939).

Letitia J. Grishaw,

Chief, Environmental Defense Section, Environmental & Natural Resources

Division.

[FR Doc. 98-20259 Filed 7-28-98; 8:45 am]

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