[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 241 (Thursday, December 14, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Page 78189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-31767]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    In accordance with Departmental Policy, 28 CFR 50.7, notice is 
hereby given that a cross-claim and two consent decrees, which together 
would resolve all claims in Jones v. Thorne, et al., Civil Action No. 
CV97-1674-ST (D. Ore.), were lodged with the United States District 
Court for the District of Oregon on November 30, 2000.
    The first proposed consent decree, entitled ``Consent Decree 
Settling United States' Cross-Claim Against Port of Portland,'' settles 
claims asserted by the United States against the Port of Portland 
(``Port'') in a cross-claim in the lawsuit. The cross-claim was also 
lodged with the Court. The cross-claim and consent decree concern 
alleged violations of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1311, resulting 
from the Port's alleged unauthorized discharge of dredged or fill 
materials into waters of the United States in the Rivergate area of 
Portland, Oregon, near the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette 
Rivers, between 1991 and 1996. The consent decree requires the Port to: 
(a) Mitigate and restore approximately 37 acres of wetlands and 
associated upland riparian habitat and buffer areas adjacent to the 
Columbia Slough and Smith and Bybee Lakes in the Rivergate area, in 
accordance with parameters specified in the consent decree and detailed 
plans to be approved by the United States Army Corps of Engineers 
(``Corps''); (b) preserve the mitigation and restoration in perpetuity 
by recording the consent decree and identifying the restrictions 
against development on the property in any instrument by which the Port 
conveys an interest in the property; (c) pay $285,000 for additional 
mitigation projects in the Smith and Bybee Lakes Management Area, 
subject to the approval of the corps; (d) pay $64,000 to the City of 
Portland for revegetation of the lower Columbia Slough banks and buffer 
areas; and (e) pay $50,000.00 to the United States Treasury.
    The second consent decree, entitled ``Consent Decree, Order of 
Dismissal with Prejudice and Release,'' settles claims asserted by 
William Michael Jones against the Port and the United States related to 
the Port's development of Rivergate. This consent decree requires the 
Port to perform some of the same activities required in the consent 
decree described in the previous paragraph. Also in this consent 
decree, the United States, on behalf of the Corps, the Environmental 
Protection Agency and the Fish and Wildlife Service, releases the Port 
from any claims it may have under the 1989 Cooperative Agreement 
regarding the Port's development of Rivergate.
    The Department of Justice will receive written comments relating to 
the cross-claim and proposed consent decrees for a period of thirty 
(30) days from the date of publication of this notice. Comments should 
be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural 
Resources Division, United States Department of Justice, Attention: G. 
Scott Williams, Senior Attorney, Environmental Defense Section, P.O. 
Box 23986, Washington, D.C. 20026-3986, and should refer to Jones v. 
Thorne, et al., DJ No. 90-5-1-4-585.
    The cross-claim and proposed consent decrees may be examined at the 
Clerk's Office, United States District Court, 740 United States 
Courthouse, 1000 S.W. Third Avenue, Portland, OR 97204-2902.

Letitia J. Grishaw,
Chief, Environmental Defense Section, Environment and Natural Resources 
Division, United States Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 00-31767 Filed 12-13-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M