[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 154 (Thursday, August 9, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41888-41889]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-19943]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act

    Under 28 U.S.C. 50.7, notice is hereby given that on July 10, 2001, 
a proposed Consent Decree and Consent Order and Protocol in United 
States v. Murphy Farms, et al., Civil Action Nos. 7:98-CV-4-F(1), 7:98-
CV-19-F(1), and 5:98-CV-209 F(1) was lodged with the United States 
District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina.
    In this action the United States sought civil penalties and 
injunctive relief from Murphy Farms, Inc., and D.M. Farms of Rose Hill, 
alleged operators of a facility that discharged pollutants without an 
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (``NPDES'') permit. The 
facility consisted of five hog farms joined by a common waste system. 
In December 1998, the District Court found the defendants liable for 
discharging hog waste into nearby streams on two occasions and ordered 
the defendants to apply for an NPDES permit. The Consent Decree 
resolves the United States' claim for penalties and injunctive relief 
relating to these and other unpermitted discharges, as well as a claim 
for injunctive relief. The Consent Decree provides for the payment of a 
$72,000 civil penalty, the use of buffer zones, improved

[[Page 41889]]

agricultural practices, better training, and other prophylactic 
measures that will help prevent future discharges. The facility's 
operation will also be governed by a NPDES permit, which the State of 
North Carolina issued on March 19, 2001.
    The United States entered this litigation as an intervener in a 
suit initially brought by the American Canoe Association, the 
Professional Paddlesports Association, and the Conservation Council of 
North Carolina (collectively, the ``Citizen Plaintiffs''). The Citizen 
Plaintiffs participated in the negotiation of the Consent Decree and 
agree with its terms. The Citizen Plaintiffs and the defendants 
negotiated a separate agreement known as the Consent Order and 
Protocol, which is attached to the Consent Decree. Under this document, 
the Citizen Plaintiffs are not entitled to participate in the 
enforcement of the Consent Decree until the defendants' motions to have 
the Court reconsider its earlier rulings concerning standing and 
Gwaltney of Smithfield, Ltd. v. Chesapeake Bay Foundation, 484 U.S. 49 
(1987), are resolved in Citizen Plaintiffs' favor. The Consent Order 
and Protocol provides that the Citizen Plaintiffs automatically become 
parties to the Consent Decree in the event that these issues are 
resolved in their favor. It also establishes a procedure for the 
resolution of those issues and the Citizen Plaintiffs' claim for 
attorneys' fees and litigation expenses.
    The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication comments relating to the Consent 
Decree and Consent Order and Protocol. Comments should be addressed to 
the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources 
Division, P.O. Box 7611, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 
20044-7611, and should refer to United States v. Murphy Farms, et al., 
D.J. Ref. 90-5-1-1-06326.
    The Consent Decree and Consent Order and Protocol may be examined 
at the Office of the United States Attorney, 310 New Bern Avenue, Suite 
800, Federal Building, Raleigh, North Carolina, and at U.S. EPA Region 
4, 61 Forsyth Street, Atlanta, Georgia. A copy of the Consent Decree 
and Consent Order and Protocol may also be obtained by mail from the 
Consent Decree Library, P.O. Box 7611, U.S. Department of Justice, 
Washington, DC 20044-7611. In requesting a copy, please enclose a check 
in the amount of $12.50 (25 cents per page reproduction cost) payable 
to the Consent Decree Library.

Ellen Mahan,
Assistant Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 01-19943 Filed 8-8-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M