Notice of Lodging Consent Decree

MAINE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree

DATE: April 12, 2007

Notice is hereby given that on April 11, 2007, a proposed Consent Decree was lodged with the United States District Court for the District of Maine in the Lawsuit captioned as City of Bangor v. Citizens Communications Company, Civil Action No. 02-183-B-S (“Lawsuit”). In this Lawsuit, the City of Bangor (“City”) filed a Complaint against Citizens Communications Company (“Citizens”) under both the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (“RCRA”), 42 U.S.C. § 6972(a)(1)(B), and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (“CERCLA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 9607(a) and 9613(f)(1), as well as various State laws claiming that the manufactured gas plant that operated in Bangor from approximately 1852 until at least 1963 (the “Bangor MGP”) was the source of the deposit of tar underlying a portion of the Penobscot River located in Bangor, Maine, known as Dunnett’s Cove. The City further asserted that this manufactured gas plant had been owned and operated by Citizens’ corporate predecessor. The City’s complaint asserted claims against Citizens, under section 107(a) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. 9607(a), for recovery of response costs incurred by the City regarding the Site.

The City also sought an injunction, pursuant to RCRA, requiring Citizens to clean up the tar deposit. Citizens filed an answer in the Lawsuit denying all of the material allegations set forth in the City’s Complaint and also filed a counterclaim against the City as well as third party claims against a number of other parties. The State of Maine has claims against both the City and Citizens under section 107(a) of CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. § 9607(a), and RCRA as well as under the Maine Uncontrolled Sites Law, 38 M.R.S.A. § 1361 et seq., for recovery of response costs incurred by the State regarding the Site as well as for an injunction requiring these parties to clean up the Site. The proposed Consent Decree requires Citizens to pay a sum certain to the City to settle the City’s claims against Citizens and requires the City to assume all of Citizens’ liabilities related to the State’s claims. The proposed Consent Decree also provides for the City to pay $334,886.00 to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (“DEP”) in reimbursement of past response costs at the Site, to pay all of DEP’s future response costs at the Site, and to remediate the Site subject to the oversight of the DEP. DEP will receive comments on this proposed Consent Decree for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of this publication.

Comments should be addressed to Kathy Howatt, Project Manager, Uncontrolled Sites Program, Bureau of Remediation & Waste Management, Division of Remediation, Maine Department of Environmental Protection, 17 State House Station, Augusta, Maine 04333-0017.

DEP will report to the Court regarding any comments that it receives within the comment period. Following the comment period the District Court may enter the Consent Decree without further notice or opportunity to be heard.

The Consent Decree may be examined at the Office of the City Solicitor, Bangor City Hall, 73 Harlow Street, Bangor, Maine, as well as DEP’s Bangor Office, 106 Hogan Road, Bangor (207-941-4570) and the DEP Main Office, Ray Building, 28 Tyson Drive, Augusta (207-287-2651). During the public comment period, the Consent Decree also may be examined on the City’s website, http://www.bangormaine.gov, as well as on the DEP website, http://www.maine.gov/dep.

Henry Aho, Acting Division Director Bureau of Remediation & Waste Management Division of Remediation Maine Department of Environmental Protection