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Notice of Lodging of Consent Decrees Pursuant to the Clean Air Act

Note: EPA no longer updates this information, but it may be useful as a reference or resource.

 [Federal Register: June 13, 1996 (Volume 61, Number 115)]
[Notices]
[Page 30098]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]




DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
 
Notice of Lodging of Consent Decrees Pursuant to the Clean Air 
Act

    In accordance with Departmental Policy, 28 CFR 50.7, notice is 
hereby given that a consent decree was lodged in U.S. v. Union Oil 
Company of California, Civil Action No. CV 96-3980-WMB (RMCx) (C.D. 
Cal.), on June 5, 1996, with the United States District Court for the 
Central District of California. The case is a civil action under 
Section 113(b) of the Clean Air Act (``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(b), for 
violations of provisions of the Act and of the regulations for New 
Source Performance Standards (``NSPS'') in suparts Ka and Kb of Part 60 
of 40 C.F.R. that require all openings in the roofs of petroleum 
storage tanks that are subject to the regulations to be sealed or 
covered.

    The violations of the NSPS regulations involved Union Oil Company 
of California's (Unocal's) Los Angeles Refinery, located in Los Angeles 
County, California, and Unocal's Santa Maria Refinery, located in the 
San Luis Obispo County, California. Petroleum storage tanks at these 
facilities have ``guidepoles'' that pass through the roofs of the 
storage tanks. The complaint alleges that the defendant's use of 
``slotted'' guidepoles--guidepoles perforated by a series of slots 
along the length of the pole--violate NSPS that require all openings in 
the roofs of petroleum storage tanks to be sealed or covered. The 
complaint seeks injunctive relief to ensure future compliance with the 
NSPS regulations. Under the consent decree, Unocal will retrofit a 
total of 7 tanks with agreed upon emission control equipment. After 
retrofitting the specified tanks, the defendant is required to operate 
the emissions control equipment specified by its consent decree in 
compliance with the Clean Air Act and its consent decree.
    The Department of Justice will receive, for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication, comments relating to the 
proposed consent decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
Department of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530, and copied to Robert R. 
Klotz, Environmental Enforcement Section, U.S. Department of Justice, 
301 Howard Street, Suite 870, San Francisco, CA 94105, and should refer 
to U.S. v. Union Oil Company of California, DOJ No. 90-5-2-1-2017.
    The proposed Unocal consent decree may be examined at the office of 
the United States Attorney, Central District of California, 1100 United 
States Courthouse, 312 North Spring Street, Los Angeles, California 
90012; at the Region IX Office of the Environmental Protection Agency, 
75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, California 94105; and at the 
Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street, N.W., 4th Floor, Washington, 
D.C. 20005, (202) 624-0892. A copy of the proposed consent decree may 
be obtained in person or by mail from the Consent Decree Library, 1120 
G Street, N.W., 4th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005. To request a copy of 
the consent decree in United States v. Union Oil Company of California, 
please refer to that case and DOJ No. 90-5-2-1-2017 and enclose a check 
in the amount of $4.25. Your check should be payable to the Consent 
Decree Library.

Joel Gross,
Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural 
Resources Division.

[FR Doc. 96-14977 Filed 6-12-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-01-M

 
 

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