Notice of Lodging of Consent Decrees Under CERCLA and the Clean Water Act

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Notice of Lodging of Consent Decrees Under CERCLA and the Clean

Water Act

Under 28 CFR Sec. 50.7, notice is hereby given that on August 6,

1996, the United States lodged with the United States District Court

for the Northern District of Indiana two proposed, related Consent

Decrees, the first in United States v. USX Corporation, Civil Action

No. 2:98CV 465JM (the ``CWA Action'') and the second in United States

and The State of Indiana v. USX Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:98CV

464RL (the ``NRD Action'').

In the CWA Action, the United States asserted claims against USX

Corporation (``USX'') under the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et

seq.. In the separate NRD Action, the United States and the State of

Indiana asserted natural resource damages (``NRD'') claims against USX

under the NRD provisions of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,

Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 9601 et seq., the Clean

Water Act, 42 U.S.C. Sec. 1251 et seq., and the Oil Pollution Act, 33

U.S.C. Sec. 2701 et seq. The claims in both actions relate to USX's

Gary Works steel-making facility in Gary, Indiana and are based on

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (``NPDES'') permit

violations, unpermitted pollutant discharges, and releases of oil and

hazardous substances from Gary Works to the East Branch of the Grand

Calumet River (``EBGCR'').

The proposed CWA Action consent decree, if entered by the Court,

will resolve the claims in that action and provide for relief

including: (i) sediment remediation through dredging and proper

disposal of contaminated sediments currently located in a five-mile

stretch of the EBGCR adjacent to and downriver from Gary Works; (ii)

the implementation of NPDES compliance programs to identify and stop

the sources of permit violations and unpermitted discharges; and (iii)

the payment by USX of $1.8 million in civil penalties, plus $1.1

million in stipulated penalties under a prior, 1990 Consent Decree

relating to Gary Works.

The proposed NRD Action consent decree, if entered by the Court,

will resolve the claims in the NRD action and require USX, in addition

to implementing the sediment remediation project described above: (i)

to clean up the surface of, and to convey to the United States and the

State of Indiana, more than 214 acres, in the aggregate, of undeveloped

property, including globally-rare dune and swale habitat, as

compensation for lost uses of natural resources; (ii) to restore and

protect 32 additional acres as wetlands, as compensation for wetlands

that will be lost during dredging; (iii) to pay the United States' and

the State's assessment costs (approximately $570,000); and (iv) to pay

$1 million into an escrow account to pay for post-dredging monitoring

of the EBGCR.

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 Decrees. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant

Attorney General of the Environment and Natural Resources Division,

Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530, and should refer to

United States v. USX Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:98CV 465JM and

United States and The State of Indiana v. USX Corporation, Civil Action

No. 2:98CV 464RL, D.J. Ref. 90-5-1-1-3111A and 90-5-1-1-3111/1.

The Consent Decrees may be examined at the Office of the United

States Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana, 1001 Main Street,

Suite A, Dyer, Indiana 46311; at the Environmental Protection Agency

Library, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604; and at the

Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street. N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington,

D.C. 20005, 202-624-0892. Copies of the Consent Decrees 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 copies, please

enclose a check payable to the Consent Decree Library, for the 25 cent

per page reproduction costs, in the amount of: $42.25 for the CWA

Action Consent Decree; $24.50 for the NRD Action Consent Decree; or

$66.75 for both.

Joel M. Gross,

Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural

Resources Division.

[FR Doc. 98-24989 Filed 9-17-98; 8:45 am]

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