The Secretary, in turn, has delegated to this Board her
authority to approve settlements of cases that are pending before the Board at the time the parties enter into
the settlement. Secretary's Order 2-96, 61 Fed. Reg. 19978 (May 3, 1996); 29 C.F.R. §24.8 (2000).
The Board requires that all parties requesting settlement approval of cases arising under
the TSCA, the SDWA and the CAA provide the settlement documentation for any other claims arising from
the same factual circumstances forming the basis of the federal claim, or to certify that the parties entered into
no other such settlement agreements. See Biddy v. Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., ALJ Case No.
95-TSC-7; ARB Case Nos. 96-109, 97-015, slip op. at 3 (Dec. 3, 1996). Accordingly, the parties have
certified that the agreement constitutes the entire and only settlement agreement with respect to Beliveau's
claims. Joint Motion for Approval of Settlement Agreement at 1.
Review of the Settlement Agreement reveals that it apparently is intended to settle an
"EEO complaint filed in 1997." Settlement Agreement at page 2; ¶ 6(a). Our authority to
review settlement agreements is limited to the statutes within our jurisdiction and is defined by the applicable
statutes. Pawlowski v. Hewlett-Packard Co. , ALJ Case No. 97-TSC-3; ARB Case No. 99-
089, slip op. at 2 (May 5, 2000). Therefore, we have restricted our review of the
Agreement, as amended, to ascertaining whether its terms fairly, adequately and reasonably settle the
environmental whistleblower cases over which we have jurisdiction. Id . Upon such review, we find
that the agreement is fair, adequate and reasonable. Accordingly, we APPROVE the Settlement
Agreement, as amended, and DISMISS the parties' appeals pending in this matter before the Board.
SO ORDERED.
PAUL
GREENBERG
Chair
E. COOPER
BROWN
Member
CYNTHIA L.
ATTWOOD
Member
[ENDNOTES]
1 These statutes are: the Toxic Substances
Control Act, 15 U.S.C. §2622 (1994) (TSCA); the Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 U.S.C.
§1367 (1994)(WPCA); the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. §300j-9(i) (1994)(SDWA); the
Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (also known as the Solid Waste Disposal Act), 42 U.S.C.
§6971 (1994)(SWDA); the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. §7622 (1994)(CAA); and the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. §9610
(1994)(CERCLA).
2 The WPCA, SWDA, and CERCLA
do not require the Secretary's approval of a settlement.