[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 37 (Monday, February 25, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 8558]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-4431]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    Notice is hereby given that a proposed Consent Decree in United 
States of America and the State of Alabama v. The Board of Water and 
Sewer Commissioners of the City of Mobile, Alabama, Civ. No. 02-0058-
CB-S, and Mobile Bay Watch, Inc. v. The Board of Water and Sewer 
Commissioners of the City of Mobile, Alabama, Civ. No. CV-99-0595-CB-S, 
was lodged on January 24, 2002, with the United States District Court 
for the Southern District of Alabama.
    The proposed Consent Decree would resolve certain claims under 
sections 301 and 402 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251, et seq., 
against the Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners of the City of 
Mobile, Alabama (``Board''), through the performance of injunctive 
measures, the payment of a civil penalty, and the performance of 
Supplemental Environmental Projects (``SEPs''). The United States, the 
State of Alabama and Mobile Bay Watch, Inc., allege that the Board is 
liable as a person who has discharged a pollutant from a point source 
to navigable waters of the United States without a permit and, in some 
cases, in excess of permit limitations.
    The proposed Consent Decree would resolve the liability of the 
Board for the violations alleged in the complaints filed in these 
matters. The proposed Consent Decree would release claims against the 
Board for performance of injunctive measures to remedy the alleged 
violations, and for penalties for the violations alleged in the 
complaints. To resolve these claims, the Board would perform the 
injunctive measures described in the proposed Consent Decree, including 
the implementation of a capacity assurance program, a grease control 
program, and a water quality monitoring program; would pay a civil 
penalty of $114,000 ($99,000 to the United States Treasury and $15,000 
to the State of Alabama); and would perform four SEPs valued at $2.5 
million collectively, including the installation of new private sewer 
laterals in low-income households within the Board's service area, the 
acquisition of environmentally beneficial parcels of land, and the 
creation of a water quality monitoring database.
    The Department of Justice will receive comments relating to the 
proposed Consent Decree for a period of thirty (30) days from the date 
of this application. As a result of the discovery of anthrax 
contamination at the District of Columbia mail processing center in 
mid-October, 2001, the delivery of regular first-class mail sent 
through the U.S. Postal Service has been disrupted. Consequently, 
public comments which are addressed to the Department of Justice in 
Washington, DC and sent by regular, first-class mail through the U.S. 
Postal Service are not expected to be received in timely manner. 
Therefore, comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney 
General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Department of 
Justice, and sent: (1) c/o Melissa Heath, Assistant Regional Counsel, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Atlanta Federal Center, 61 
Forsyth Street, SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303; and/or (2) by facsimile to 
(202) 353-0296; and/or (3) by overnight delivery, other than through 
the U.S. Postal Service, to Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, 
1425 New York Avenue, NW, 13th Floor, Washington, DC 20005. Each 
communication should refer on its face to United States v. The Board of 
Water and Sewer Commissioners of the City of Mobile, Alabama, DJ No. 
90-5-1-1-06985.
    The proposed Consent Decree may be examined at the office of the 
United States Attorney for the Southern District of Alabama, 63 South 
Royal Street, Mobile, AL 36602, and at the Region 4 Office of the 
Environmental Protection Agency, Atlanta Federal Center, 61 Forsyth 
Street, SW, Atlanta GA 30303. A copy of the proposed Consent Decree may 
also be obtained by faxing a request to Tonia Fleetwood, Department of 
Justice Consent Decree Library, fax no. (202) 616-6584; phone 
confirmation no. (202) 514-1547. There is a charge for the copy (25 
cents per page reproduction cost). Upon requesting a copy, please mail 
a check payable to the ``U.S. Treasury'', in the amount of $25.75, to: 
Consent Decree Library, U.S. Department of Justice, P.O. Box 7611, 
Washington, DC 20044-7611. The check should refer to United States v. 
The Board of Water and Sewer Commissioners of the City of Mobile, 
Alabama, DJ No. 90-5-1-1-06985.

Walker Smith,
Principal Deputy Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 02-4431 Filed 2-22-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M