[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 74 (Wednesday, April 19, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18482-18483]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-07905]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Settlement Agreement Under the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
and Chapter 11 of the United States Bankruptcy Code
On April 13, 2017, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed
Settlement Agreement with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the
District of Maine in In re: Lincoln Paper and Tissue, LLC, No. 15-10715
PGC. The agreement was entered into by the United States, on behalf of
the United States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA''), the debtor
Lincoln Paper and Tissue, LLC (``Debtor''), and the Maine Department of
Environmental Protection (``MDEP'').
The agreement relates to liabilities of the Debtor under the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act
of 1980, 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq. (``CERCLA''), in connection with the
275-acre paper mill owned by the Debtor in Lincoln, Maine
(``Facility''). Pursuant to the agreement's terms, the Debtor has
agreed to implement certain removal actions at the Facility, including
the removal of drums and containers of hazardous substances and
hazardous wastes, the removal of radioactive signs, and the removal of
friable asbestos. The Debtor has also agreed to pay EPA the difference
between the cost of these removal actions (expected to be about
$250,000) and $400,000. The Debtor has also agreed that if the estate's
net recoveries in the bankruptcy proceeding (other than insurance
recoveries related to environmental claims) exceed $500,000, the Debtor
will pay EPA 25% of the excess, with an overall cap of $225,000. With
respect to insurance proceeds for environmental claims, the Debtor has
agreed to pay EPA 50% of any net proceeds over $400,000, with no cap on
the amount. MDEP has agreed that an escrow account of $50,000, which
was set aside by the Debtor earlier in the bankruptcy case for the
benefit of any remediation sought by MDEP at the Facility, will be paid
to EPA to help defray EPA's removal costs at the Facility. MDEP has
signed the Settlement Agreement due to this aspect of the settlement.
The Debtor has also agreed that EPA will have an allowed general
unsecured claim in the amount of the removal costs that will be
incurred by EPA at the Facility, minus certain cash payments to be made
by the Debtor to EPA, with a cap of $1.5 million.
[[Page 18483]]
The United States, on behalf of EPA, has provided the Debtor with a
covenant not to sue, under Sections 106 and 107 of CERCLA, with respect
to the Facility, as well as a property located adjacent to the Facility
(the ``Excluded Area''), as well as those areas of the Penobscot River
where hazardous substances from the Facility or the Excluded Area have
come to be located. The covenant also applies to the Debtor's
successors and assigns, former and current officers, directors,
employees, and trustees, but only to the extent that the alleged
liability of the successor or assign, officer, director, employee, or
trustee is based solely on his, her or its status and on his, her or
its capacity as a successor or assign, officer, director, employee or
trustee of the Debtor.
The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on
the Agreement. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney
General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and should refer
to In re: Lincoln Paper and Tissue, LLC, No. 15-10715 PGC, D.J. Ref.
No. 90-11-3-11537. 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............................ [email protected].
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 Agreement may be examined and
downloaded at this Justice Department Web site: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. We will provide a paper copy of
the agreement 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 $19.75 (25 cents per page
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.
Robert E. Maher, Jr.,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2017-07905 Filed 4-18-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P