[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 70 (Thursday, April 11, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Page 17721]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8753]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act

    In accordance with Department policy, 28 C.F.R. 50.7, notice is 
hereby given that on March 26, 2002, a proposed consent decree in 
United States v. Texaco Exploration and Production Inc., Civil No. 
2:98-CV-00213-ST, was lodged with the United States District Court for 
the District of Utah.
    This consent decree represents a settlement of claims brought 
against Texaco Exploration and Production Inc. (``Texaco'') under 
Sections 309 and 311 of the Clean Water Act (``CWA''), 33 U.S.C. 1319 
and 1321, in a civil complaint filed on March 26, 1998. The complaint 
alleged the following: (1) Texaco violated CWA Section 301 by 
unauthorized discharges of produced water and mixed oil and produced 
water from its oil and gas production field in Aneth, Utah (the ``Aneth 
Unit'') into waters of the U.S.; (2) Texaco violated CWA Section 311 by 
discharging a mix of oil and produced water from the Aneth Unit into 
waters of the U.S. and adjoining shorelines; and (3) in violation of 
CWA Section 311(j) and 40 CFR Part 112, Texaco failed to prepare an 
adequate Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure (``SPCC'') Plan, 
failed to adequately implement the SPCC plan, and failed to provide 
notification to EPA of oil spills from the Aneth Unit.
    Under the proposed settlement, Texaco is required to implement a 
series of measures as injunctive relief including: rerouting of 
flowlines; construction of berming; replacement of pipelines; 
installation of stuffing box leak detectors on producing wells; 
construction of overflow tanks; and installation of emergency shutdown 
equipment on producing wells, the injection distribution system, and 
the production transfer system. Texaco will also submit a revised SPCC 
Plan and fully implement the Plan. Texaco is also required to provide 
for the construction and implementation of two Supplemental 
Environmental Projects, at an estimated cost of $478,700, to provide an 
adequate supply of drinking water and sanitary facilities for residents 
in the vicinity of Montezuma Creek, Utah, on the Navajo Nation. 
Finally, Texaco will pay a civil penalty of $369,922.
    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 publication. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Divisions, U.S. 
Department of Justice, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044-7611, and 
should refer to United States v. Texaco Exploration and Production 
Inc., DOJ Ref. 90-5-1-1-4457/1. A copy of any comments should be sent 
to Robert D. Mullaney, U.S. Department of Justice, 301 Howard St., 
Suite 1050, San Francisco, CA 94105.
    The proposed consent decree may be examined at the Office of the 
United States Attorney, 185 South State Street, Suite 400, Salt Lake 
City, Utah 84111, and at the Office of Regional Counsel, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San 
Francisco, CA 94105. A copy of the proposed Consent Decree may also be 
obtained by mail from the Consent Decree Library, U.S. Department of 
Justice, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044-7611, or by faxing a 
request to Tonia Fleetwood, Department of Justice Consent Decree 
Library, fax no. (202) 514-0097; phone confirmation no. (202) 514-1547. 
There is a charge for the copy (25 cent per page reproduction cost). In 
requesting a copy, please enclose a check in the amount of $36.00 
payable to the ``U.S. Treasury.'' (A copy of the decree, exclusive of 
attachments, may be obtained for $8.75.)

Ellen M. Mahan,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 02-8753 Filed 4-10-02; 8:45 am]
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