[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 2 (Tuesday, January 4, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 385-386]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-33114]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act

    In accordance with Departmental Policy, 28 CFR 50.7, notice is 
hereby given that a proposed Consent Decree in United States of America 
v. The Boeing Company et al., Civil Action No. 10-457-LRS (E.D. Wa.), 
was lodged with the United States District Court for the Western 
District of Washington on December 23, 2010. The proposed Consent 
Decree settles claims for, inter alia, response costs to address 
hazardous substances released at the Moses Lake Wellfield Superfund 
Site (Site).
    The complaint asserts claims against the defendants--The Boeing 
Company, Lockheed Martin Corporation, and the City of Moses Lake--for 
response costs incurred at the Site by the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) and the United States Army Corps of Engineers 
(Corps) pursuant to the section 107(a) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), 42 
U.S.C. 9607(a). The complaint also seeks a declaratory judgment of 
liability against the defendants for future response costs incurred by 
EPA and the Corps at the Site. The State of Washington also filed a 
complaint on December 23, 2010, asserting claims for response costs 
against the defendants as well as against the United States.
    Under the proposed Consent Decree, the defendants will make 
payments to the United States totaling $3.25 million to resolve their 
CERCLA liability at the Site. The United States, on behalf of a group 
of settling Federal agencies including the United States Air Force, 
will make payments to EPA for the future response costs that are not 
covered by the defendants' payments. The United States will also pay, 
on behalf of the settling Federal agencies, future response costs 
incurred by the State of Washington. Based on cleanup cost estimates, 
the United States' payments on behalf of the settling Federal agencies, 
which will be largely to EPA, are expected to be approximately $55 
million. The payments by the United States resolve claims against it by 
the State of Washington as well as claims by the defendants. In 
addition, the United States, on behalf of the settling Federal 
agencies, will pay the City of Moses Lake approximately $2.96 million 
to resolve claims for response costs and attorney fees asserted by the 
City of Moses Lake in its related pending lawsuit, No. 04-0376.
    The Department of Justice will receive written comments relating to 
the proposed Consent Decree for a period of thirty (30) days from the 
date of publication of this notice. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
and either e-mailed to [email protected] or mailed to P.O. 
Box 7611, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611, and 
should refer to United States of America

[[Page 386]]

v. The Boeing Company, et al., DJ Reference No. 90-11-2-1040/1.
    The Consent Decree may be examined at the Office of the United 
States Attorney, Eastern District of Washington, 920 W Riverside Ave, 
Suite 340, Spokane, WA 99201. During the public comment period, the 
Consent Decree may also be examined on the following Department of 
Justice Web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. A 
copy of the Consent Decree may also be obtained by mail from the 
Consent Decree Library, P.O. Box 7611, U.S. Department of Justice, 
Washington, DC 20044-7611 or by faxing or e-mailing a request to Tonia 
Fleetwood ([email protected]), fax no. (202) 514-0097, phone 
confirmation number (202) 514-1547. In requesting a copy from the 
Consent Decree Library, please enclose a check in the amount of $24.50 
(25 cents per page reproduction cost) payable to the United States 
Treasury or, if requesting by e-mail or fax, forward a check in that 
amount to the Consent Decree Library at the stated address.

Maureen Katz,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division, United States Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 2010-33114 Filed 1-3-11; 8:45 am]
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