ALBUQUERQUE - Natural Resource Trustees and Chevron Molycorp Inc. reached a $4 million settlement to restore natural resources that were injured as a result of releases of hazardous substances from the Chevron Molycorp mine facility.
The Trustees will use the money to implement restoration projects that benefit natural resources through the implementation of restoration projects that have yet to be specifically selected. Such projects would include projects that compensate for injury to groundwater and habitat resources injured, destroyed, or lost as a result of the release of hazardous substances. In addition, 225 acres of land called the Anderson Ranch is to be transferred to the Bureau of Land Management for conservation and natural resource protection. Chevron Molycorp will also reimburse the Trustees for their assessment costs.
The Trustees in the case are the State of New Mexico, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service and the U.S. Department of the Interior. The proposed consent decree outlining the settlement was lodged in District Court and is available at www.justice.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. It is subject to a 30-day public comment period and final court approval.
“I commend the Trustees and Chevron Molycorp for their efforts in this multi-year cooperative process that will restore our natural resources,” Ryan Flynn, N.M. Natural Resources Trustee said. “Our staff worked hard so that the people of New Mexico could see improvements to our unique environment that will benefit our state for generations. Upcoming work includes selecting restoration projects for implementation.”
“On behalf of the Federal agencies, I would like to express my gratitude to all those who have collaborated to achieve this settlement agreement,” said Dr. Benjamin Tuggle, Southwest Regional Director for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. “Because of this agreement we will be able to address the injuries to our trust resources and identify restoration projects that will enhance important habitat for native fish and wildlife.”
The Trustees’ next step will be to conduct a public information meeting that will explain the process for identifying and selecting restoration projects to offset the natural resource injuries. The meeting date will be announced in the local media and on the Office of Natural Resources Trustee website at http://onrt.state.nm.us/. Members of the public are encouraged to attend the meeting to learn how to submit restoration project suggestions to the Trustees.
