Notice2023-15046
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Air Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, and the Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act
Primary source
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Published
July 17, 2023
Issuing agencies
Justice Department
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 135 (Monday, July 17, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 135 (Monday, July 17, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Page 45448]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15046]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act, the Clean Air Act, the Comprehensive
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, and the
Emergency Planning and Community Right-To-Know Act
On July 11, 2023, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed
consent decree with the United States District Court for the District
of Wyoming in the lawsuit entitled United States of America v. J.R.
Simplot Company, Civil Action No. 1:23-cv-322. If approved by the
court, the consent decree would resolve the claims of the United States
against J.R. Simplot Company (Simplot) for injunctive relief and civil
penalties for alleged violations of the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act (RCRA); for injunctive relief and civil penalties for
alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (CAA); and for civil penalties
for alleged violations of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) and Emergency Planning And
Community Right-To-Know Act (EPCRA), at Simplot's phosphoric acid and
fertilizer manufacturing plant located near Pocatello, Idaho, known as
the Don Plant. The consent decree would require Simplot to (1)
implement compliance projects at the Don Plant; (2) comply with
specified requirements for management of wastes or other materials at
the facility and in the facility's phosphogypsum stack system, (3)
comply with specified requirements for the eventual closure and long-
term care of the facility, and provide financial assurance to cover the
estimated cost of such obligations; and (4) continue groundwater and
surface monitoring and reporting--monitoring and reporting that is
currently required by a prior CERCLA consent decree under which Simplot
also is required to implement remedial measures to address the release
of hazardous substances into the environment as a result of past
operations at the facility; and (5) comply with specified operational
practices for air emissions controls, and replace the existing cooling
towers by June 2026 with cooling pond(s) to reduce fluoride emissions
into the air from the Don Plant, subject to a contingency that, if
applicable, alternatively requires implementation of an EPA-approved
plant to reduce fluoride emissions to the greatest extent practicable.
The consent decree would also require Simplot to revise the annual
Toxic Chemical Release Inventory Reporting Forms it submitted under
EPCRA for years 2004-2012 to include estimates of compounds that
previously were not included in those reports. In addition, the consent
decree would require Simplot to pay a civil penalty of $1.5 million. In
return for Simplot's compliance with these requirements, the consent
decree would resolve past RCRA, CAA, CERCLA, and EPCRA violations at
the Don Plant that the United States' complaint alleges. Provided that
Simplot remains in compliance with consent decree's requirements for
the management of wastes or other materials, under the consent decree
the United States would also covenant not to sue Simplot under RCRA for
its management of wastes or other materials at the Don Plant facility.
The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on
the consent decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant
Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and
should refer to United States of America v. J.R. Simplot Company, D.J.
Ref. No. 90-7-1-08388/23. All comments must be submitted no later than
thirty (30) days after the publication date of this notice. Comments
may be submitted either by email or by mail:
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To submit comments: Send them to:
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By email............................ <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#28585d4a4b4745454d465c054d4d5b064d465a4c685d5b4c4742064f475e"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="cdbdb8afaea2a0a0a8a3b9e0a8a8bee3a8a3bfa98db8bea9a2a7e3aaa2bb">[email protected]</span></a>.
By mail............................. Assistant Attorney General U.S.
DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
Washington, DC 20044-7611.
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During the public comment period, the consent decree may be
examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: <a href="http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees">http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees</a>. We will provide a paper copy of
the consent decree upon written request and payment of reproduction
costs. Please mail your request and payment to: Consent Decree Library,
U.S. DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044-7611.
Please enclose a check or money order for $127.25 (25 cents per
page reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury. For a
paper copy without the Appendices and signature pages, the cost is
$18.25.
Kathryn C. Macdonald,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-15046 Filed 7-14-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P
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