[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 68 (Wednesday, April 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 19776-19777]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-07324]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Settlement Agreement Under the
Atomic Energy Act and Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation and Liability Act
On April 1, 2020, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed
Settlement Agreement between the United States, on behalf of the
Nuclear Regulatory Commission (``NRC'') and the Environmental
Protection Agency (``EPA''), the Oklahoma Department of Environmental
Quality (``ODEQ''), Fansteel, Inc. (``Debtor'' or ``Fansteel''), and
FMRI, Inc. with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of
Iowa in the case entitled In re Fansteel, Inc., Case No. 16-01823-als11
(Bankr. S.D. Iowa).
The United States, on behalf of the NRC, filed a protective proof
of claim on January 17, 2017, in this bankruptcy action, which, inter
alia, asserted that Fansteel is liable to the United States to comply
with Sections 62, 63, and 161 of the Atomic Energy Act, 42 U.S.C. 2092,
2093, 2201, applicable regulations under 10 CFR parts 20 and 40, 10 CFR
40.36, NRC license SMB-911, and the Amended Decommissioning Plan for
the Muskogee Property, the facility owned by Debtor and operated by
FMRI, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Debtor, and to perform the
decommissioning and remediation of that Property.
Under the Settlement Agreement: (1) The Debtor will transfer Parcel
D of the Muskogee property to FMRI; (2) FMRI will use funds received
from the Decommissioning Trust under the Amended Decommissioning Plan,
from the Plan Administrator under Fansteel's Plan of Reorganization, or
from other sources for activities necessary to maintain health and
safety, fulfill obligations mandated by the NRC License and Amended
Decommissioning Plan, or conduct response actions pursuant to the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act
(``CERCLA'), 42 U.S.C. 9601-9675, or the Oklahoma Environmental Quality
Code 27A, Oklahoma Statutes Sec. 2-1-101 et seq., at the Muskogee
Property; (3) the Debtor will transfer any and all causes of action the
Debtor may have against potentially responsible parties at the Muskogee
Property under CERCLA and Oklahoma law to FMRI; (4) the Debtor and the
``Environmental Authorities'' (NRC, EPA, and ODEQ) will allocate
between them as provided in the Settlement Agreement any Net Proceeds
received from the sale of Parcel B, any settlement reached with the
Port of Muskogee regarding environmental liability for the Muskogee
Property, and any other Net Proceeds received; (5) the Environmental
Authorities will receive one hundred percent (100%) of any net
insurance proceeds for losses related to environmental liabilities with
respect to the Muskogee Property; and (6) the Environmental Authorities
and FMRI will share on a fifty/fifty percent (50%/50%) basis as
provided in the Settlement Agreement the proceeds from any settlement
or adjudication of the third party environmental claims transferred
from the Debtor to FMRI.
The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on
the proposed Settlement Agreement. Comments should be addressed to the
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division,
and should refer to In re Fansteel, Inc., Case No. 16-01823 als-11
(Bankr. S.D. Iowa) and DJ #90-10-07797/2. All comments must be
submitted no later than fifteen (15) days after the publication date of
this notice. Comments may be submitted either by email or by mail:
[[Page 19777]]
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To submit comments: Send them to:
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By email............................ [email protected].
By mail............................. Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
Washington, D.C. 20044-7611.
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During the public comment period, the proposed Settlement Agreement
may be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website:
http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. 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 $8.00 (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. 2020-07324 Filed 4-7-20; 8:45 am]
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