[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 92 (Wednesday, May 13, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 26627-26628]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-12627]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Pursuant to the Clean Water 
Act

    In accordance with Departmental Policy, 28 C.F.R. Sec. 50.7, notice 
is hereby given that a consent decree in Clark Fork Pend Oreille 
Coalition, et al. vs. Idaho Transportation Department, et al., Civil 
No. 95-0300-N-EJL (D. Idaho), was lodged with the United States 
District Court for the District of Idaho on April 15, 1998. The 
proposed consent decree concerns violations of section 401 of the Clean 
Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Secs. 1342 and 1344(a), involving the discharge of 
dredged or fill materials into the Sand Creek, its tributaries and 
adjacent ponds and wetlands by the Idaho Department of Transportation 
(``DOT'') during 1994 road construction on U.S. Highway 95 in Bonner 
County, Idaho.
    The Consent Decree includes the following terms: (1) Restoration of 
environmental harm; (2) an admission that ITD violated the CWA; (3) a 
penalty of $200,00 to be deposited into a trust account entitled 
``Clark Fork Pend Oreille Wetlands Trust Fund,'' to protect, preserve, 
improve or enhance wetlands in Bonner County within the natural 
drainage to Pend Oreille Lake and Clark Fork River; (4) develop a 
program to educate ITD personnel about the requirements of the CWA; (5) 
establish an environmental inspector position for each major highway 
construction project to coordinate all CWA permitting issues for ITD 
projects; and, (6) adopt new contract procedures providing standards 
for erosion control, wetlands identification and the incorporation of 
Section 404 Permits into all construction contracts. The Army Corps of 
Engineers' headquarters, and the Corps Walla Walla, Washington 
District, as well as the United States Attorney's Office for the 
District of Idaho, support the settlement.
    The Department of Justice will receive written comments relating to 
the Consent Decree for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of 
this notice. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney 
General, United States Department of Justice, Attention: Deborah A. 
Hill, Assistant United States Attorney, District of Idaho, P.O. Box 32, 
Boise, ID 83707, and should refer to Clark Fork Pend Oreille Coalition, 
et al. vs. Idaho Transportation Department, et al., U.S. Attorney, No. 
reference N-95-0096.
    The Consent Decree may be examined at the following offices:


[[Page 26628]]


Office of the United States Attorney, District of Idaho, 877 W. Main 
Street, Suite 201, Boise, Idaho 83702
Office of District Counsel, Corps of Engineers, Walla Walla District, 
201 N. 3rd Avenue, Walla Walla, WA 99362-1876.

    A copy may be requested by calling Deborah A. Hill, Assistant 
United States Attorney, at (208) 334-1211. In requesting a copy, please 
enclose a check payable to the Treasury of the United States in the 
amount of $6.00 for a copy of the Consent Decree with attachments and 
postage.
Deborah A. Hill,
Assistant U.S. Attorney, District of Idaho.
[FR Doc. 98-12627 Filed 5-12-98; 8:45 am]
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