Notice2023-27319
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
December 13, 2023
Issuing agencies
Justice Department
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 238 (Wednesday, December 13, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 238 (Wednesday, December 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 86381-86382]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-27319]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act
On December 7, 2023, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed
Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the Northern
District of Illinois in the lawsuit entitled United States, Louisiana
Department of Environmental Quality, and the State of Indiana v.
Heritage-Crystal Clean, LLC, Civil Action No. 1:22-cv-00303.
The complaint filed in this action seeks civil penalties and
injunctive relief for alleged violations of the Resource Conservation
and Recovery
[[Page 86382]]
Act, its implementing regulations, and related state law provisions, at
five Heritage-Crystal Clean (HCC) facilities located in Shreveport,
Indianapolis, Atlanta, and Denver as well as at a former facility in
Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania. The complaint alleged that in the course
of providing solvent-based parts washing services to numerous customers
throughout the United States, HCC violated various hazardous waste
management requirements by (1) transporting hazardous waste without
required hazardous waste manifests, (2) storing hazardous waste at HCC
facilities that do not have hazardous waste permits, (3) failing to
make adequate hazardous waste determinations after mixing used solvents
that HCC accepted from numerous different customers, (4) failing to
comply with certain requirements for reducing air emissions from
hazardous waste tanks and equipment, and (5) failing to maintain
adequate secondary containment for certain hazardous waste tanks. The
complaint also alleged that HCC violated certain requirements
applicable to storage of used oil at HCC's Shreveport facility, and
certain requirements governing management of solid wastes at HCC's
Indianapolis facility (the ``10th Street Facility'').
The proposed settlement prohibits HCC from treating, storing, or
disposing of hazardous waste at any HCC facility that does not have a
hazardous waste management permit. The proposed settlement also
includes extensive measures to assure that HCC facilities do not manage
used parts washing solvent that is subject to regulation as hazardous
waste. These measures include: (1) screening new customers; (2)
screening used parts washing solvents before HCC accepts such solvents
for transport and management; (3) providing educational materials to
certain parts washing customers; (4) testing of used parts washing
solvent accepted by HCC to determine whether any used solvents accepted
and managed by HCC are hazardous waste; (5) prompt removal from HCC
facilities of any used parts washing solvents shown to be hazardous
waste; (6) a prohibition on processing of certain used solvents,
including by gravity separation, for the purpose of making the used
solvent suitable for resale and re-use. The proposed settlement also
provides for HCC to apply for a permit to store and treat hazardous
waste at its 10th Street Facility. Pending issuance of a hazardous
waste permit for the 10th Street Facility and construction of any waste
management units authorized by such a permit, the proposed Consent
Decree requires HCC to implement various interim measures at the 10th
Street Facility, including various inspection requirements, and
requirements to close open vents on certain tanks used to store used
solvent at the 10th Street Facility. In addition, the proposed Consent
Decree includes provisions for a third-party audit of HCC's
implementation of Consent Decree requirements. Finally, the proposed
Consent Decree provides for HCC to pay civil penalties totaling
$1,162,500, with specified portions of the penalty amount allocated to
the United States, the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality,
and the State of Indiana.
The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on
the proposed Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division,
and should refer to United States, Louisiana Department of
Environmental Quality, and the State of Indiana v. Heritage-Chrystal
Clean, LLC D.J. Ref. No. 90-7-1-11889. 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#a8d8ddcacbc7c5c5cdc6dc85cdcddb86cdc6dacce8dddbccc7c286cfc7de"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="e1919483828e8c8c848f95cc848492cf848f9385a19492858e8bcf868e97">[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 proposed 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 proposed 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 $33.50 (25 cents per page
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.
Thomas Carroll,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2023-27319 Filed 12-12-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P
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</html>Indexed from Federal Register on December 13, 2023.
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