Case 2:17-cv-00140-DLR Document 20 Filed 05/22/17 Page 1 of 160 1 WO 1 2 2 3 3 4 4 5 5 6 IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 6 7 FOR THE DISTRICT OF ARIZONA 7 8 8 9 United States of America, No. CV-17-00140-PHX-DLR 9 10 Plaintiff, (Related Case No. CV-17-08007-PCT-DLR) 10 11 v. ORDER 11 12 Cyprus Amax Minerals Company; and 12 13 Western Nuclear, Inc., 13 14 Defendants. 14 15 15 16 The United States, on behalf of the Environmental Protection Agency, filed an 16 17 unopposed motion to enter the parties’ proposed consent decree. (Docs. 18, 18-6.) The 17 18 Navajo Nation filed a similar motion in its related suit against Defendants. (Doc. 23, No. 18 19 CV-17-08007-PCT-DLR.) The Court granted the motions, finding the consent decree to 19 20 be fair, reasonable, and consistent with the objectives of CERCLA. 20 21 IT IS ORDERED that the consent decree is hereby entered: 21 22 22 23 CONSENT DECREE 23 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 27 28 28 Case 2:17-cv-00140-DLR Document 20 Filed 05/22/17 Page 2 of 160 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS 2 I. BACKGROUND ............................................................................................................ 1 II. JURISDICTION ............................................................................................................. 3 3 III. PARTIES BOUND ......................................................................................................... 4 4 IV. DEFINITIONS ............................................................................................................... 4 V. GENERAL PROVISIONS ........................................................................................... 11 5 VI. PERFORMANCE OF THE WORK ............................................................................ 13 VII. REMEDY REVIEW ..................................................................................................... 19 6 VIII. PROPERTY REQUIREMENTS .................................................................................. 20 7 IX. FINANCIAL ASSURANCE ........................................................................................ 22 X. PAYMENTS FOR RESPONSE COSTS ..................................................................... 29 8 XI. INDEMNIFICATION AND INSURANCE ................................................................ 41 XII. FORCE MAJEURE ...................................................................................................... 43 9 9 XIII. DISPUTE RESOLUTION ........................................................................................... 45 10 XIV. STIPULATED PENALTIES ....................................................................................... 49 XV. COVENANTS BY THE UNITED STATES ............................................................... 54 11 XVI. COVENANTS BY THE NAVAJO NATION ............................................................. 58 XVII. COVENANTS BY SETTLING DEFENDANTS AND SFAS .................................... 61 12 12 XVIII. EFFECT OF SETTLEMENT; CONTRIBUTION ....................................................... 65 13 XIX. ACCESS TO INFORMATION .................................................................................... 67 XX. RETENTION OF RECORDS ...................................................................................... 69 14 XXI. NOTICES AND SUBMISSIONS ................................................................................ 71 15 XXII. RETENTION OF JURISDICTION ............................................................................. 75 15 XXIII. APPENDICES .............................................................................................................. 75 16 XXIV. MODIFICATION ......................................................................................................... 76 XXV. NOTICE OF COMPLETION OF WORK ................................................................... 76 17 XXVI. LODGING AND OPPORTUNITY FOR PUBLIC COMMENT ................................ 77 18 XXVII. SIGNATORIES/SERVICE .......................................................................................... 77 18 XXVIII. FINAL JUDGMENT .................................................................................................... 78 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 27 28 28 ii Case 2:17-cv-00140-DLR Document 20 Filed 05/22/17 Page 3 of 160 1 I. BACKGROUND 2 A. The United States of America (“United States”), on behalf of the 3 Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”), filed a 4 complaint in this matter pursuant to Sections 106 and 107 of the Comprehensive 5 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 6 9606 and 9607, against Cyprus Amax Minerals Company (“Cyprus Amax”) and Western 7 Nuclear, Inc. (“Western Nuclear”) (collectively, “Settling Defendants”). 8 B. The Navajo Nation filed a complaint in this matter pursuant to Section 107 9 of CERCLA and Sections 2403, 2501 and 2503 of the Navajo Nation CERCLA 10 (“NNCERCLA”), 4 N.N.C. §§ 2403, 2501 and 2503, against Settling Defendants. 11 C. The United States and the Navajo Nation (collectively, “Plaintiffs”), in their 12 complaint against the Settling Defendants, each seek, inter alia: (1) reimbursement of 13 Past and Future Response Costs incurred, in the case of the United States, by EPA and 14 other federal agencies, and in the case of the Navajo Nation, by the Navajo Nation, 15 including the Navajo Nation EPA (“NNEPA”) and the Navajo Nation DOJ (“NNDOJ”), 16 for response actions at the abandoned uranium mine sites and one transfer station in 17 Arizona, New Mexico, and Utah, located on Navajo Nation lands, and listed in Appendix 18 A (“Mine Sites”), together with accrued interest; and (2) performance of response actions 19 by Settling Defendants at the Mine Sites consistent with the National Contingency Plan, 20 40 C.F.R. Part 300 (“NCP”). 21 D. Cyprus Amax acknowledges that it is the successor in interest to Climax 22 Uranium Company and has a contractual obligation to indemnify Chemetall Foote 23 Corporation, the corporate successor to Vanadium Corporation of America and its 24 affiliates. Cyprus Amax further acknowledges that Climax Uranium Company, 25 Vanadium Corporation of America, or another corporate affiliate of Cyprus Amax was 26 historically involved in uranium mining at each of the abandoned uranium mines listed in 27 Appendix A except for the Ruby Mines Site and the Proximate Mine Sites. Western 28 1 Case 2:17-cv-00140-DLR Document 20 Filed 05/22/17 Page 4 of 160 1 Nuclear acknowledges that it was historically involved in uranium mining at the Ruby 2 Mines Site identified in Appendix A. 3 E. Western Nuclear recently entered into an Administrative Settlement 4 Agreement and Order on Consent for Engineering Evaluation and Cost Analysis in In the 5 Matter of: Ruby Mines Site, U.S. EPA Region 9, CERCLA Docket No. 2016-10 and will 6 perform that work separately from this Consent Decree (“CD”). The Parties agree that all 7 future work at the Ruby Mines Site after the Engineering Evaluation/Cost Analysis 8 (“EE/CA”) is completed will be performed pursuant to the terms of this Consent Decree. 9 F. Pursuant to the settlement of the Tronox Incorporated bankruptcy 10 proceeding, In re Tronox Inc., No. 09-10156 (ALG) (Bkr. S.D.N.Y.), the United States 11 and the Navajo Nation settled, resolved, and recovered funds from Tronox Incorporated, 12 Kerr-McGee Corporation, and related subsidiaries of Anadarko Petroleum Corporation to 13 address certain abandoned uranium mines located on Navajo Nation lands, including the 14 23 abandoned uranium mines listed and identified in Appendix B. Settling Defendants 15 acknowledge that Vanadium Corporation of America was historically involved in 16 uranium mining at each of the abandoned uranium mines identified in Appendix B. This 17 CD does not require Settling Defendants to perform any work at any of the abandoned 18 uranium mines identified in Appendix B. 19 G. In accordance with Section 122(j)(1) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9622(j)(1), 20 EPA notified the Navajo Nation Division of Natural Resources, Navajo Nation 21 Department of Justice, U.S. Department of the Interior, New Mexico Office of Natural 22 Resources Trustee, Arizona Natural Resources Trustee, State of Utah Lead Trustee, and 23 State of Utah Co-Trustee on December 13, 2016, of negotiations with the Settling 24 Defendants regarding the release of hazardous substances that may have resulted in injury 25 to the natural resources under federal trusteeship and encouraged the trustee(s) to 26 participate in the negotiation of this CD. 27 H. Settling Defendants do not admit any liability to Plaintiffs arising out of 28 the transactions or occurrences alleged in the complaints, do not admit that any release or 2 Case 2:17-cv-00140-DLR Document 20 Filed 05/22/17 Page 5 of 160 1 threatened release of hazardous substances occurred while they operated any Mine Site, 2 nor do they acknowledge that the release or threatened release of hazardous substance(s) 3 at or from any of the Mine Sites constitutes an imminent and substantial endangerment to 4 the public health or welfare or the environment. Settling Federal Agencies do not admit 5 any liability arising out of the transactions or occurrences as may be alleged in any claims 6 by the Navajo Nation or counterclaims by Settling Defendants. 7 I. Based on the information presently available to EPA and the Navajo 8 Nation, EPA and the Navajo Nation believe that the Work at the Mine Sites will be 9 promptly