[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 201 (Wednesday, October 19, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 60854-60855]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20933]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act

    Pursuant to 28 CFR 50.7, notice is hereby given that on October 7, 
2005, a proposed consent decree in United States v. Sanitation District 
No. 1 of Northern Kentucky, Civil No. 05-199-WOB, was lodged with the 
United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky.
    This Consent Decree will address claims asserted by the United 
States in a complaint filed contemporaneously with the Consent Decree 
against Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky(``the 
District'') for civil penalties and injunctive relief under section 309 
of the Clean Water Act (``the Act''), 33 U.S.C. 1319, for discharges of 
pollutants in violation of section 301 of the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1311, 
including violation of conditions established in the National Pollutant 
Discharge Elimination System (``NPDES'') permits issued to the District 
by the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (``KDEP''), 
pursuant to authority delegated to it by EPA under section 402(b) of 
the Act, 33 U.S.C. 1342(b), and for discharges of pollutants without an 
NPDES permit.
    The remedial measures prescribed under the proposed Consent Decree 
are divided into two primary parts: Initial watershed program projects 
and submittals, and development and implementation of long-term 
watershed plans for each of the four watersheds in The District's 
service area. The initial watershed program projects and submittals, 
which are to occur within one year of entry of the Consent Decree, 
include documentation demonstrating the status of the District's 
compliance with the Nine Minimum Controls required under EPA's Combined 
Sewer System policy; a self-assessment of the District's Capacity, 
Management, Operation and Maintenance (CMOM) Programs, including the 
submittal of three specific programs: Gravity line prevention 
maintenance, grease control, and a Sewer Overflow Response Plan; an 
initial watershed program projects list; and a pump station plan to 
address high volume and chronic unpermitted discharges at pump 
stations. This long-term watershed plan development portion of the 
Consent Decree requires submission of a framework for developing 
watershed plans within six months of entry of the Consent Decree; 
submission by December 2008 of a watershed plan for each of the four 
watersheds, including a Long Term Control Plan and a Sanitary Sewer 
Overflow Plan; and submission every five years thereafter of updated 
watershed plans, through December 2025, at which time the Consent 
Decree requires full compliance with Combined Sewer Overflow water 
quality standards criteria and the elimination of all unpermitted 
discharges. The District will pay a civil penalty of $476,000, with 
$338,200 going to Kentucky and $138,000 going to the United States. The 
District is also required to perform supplemental environmental 
projects valued at not less than $636,000.
    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. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, 
Environment and Natural Resources Division, P.O. Box 7611, U.S. 
Department of Justice, Washington, PC 20044-7611, and should refer to 
United States v. Sanitation District No. 1 of Northern Kentucky, D.J. 
Ref. 90-5-1-1-08591.
    The consent decree may be examined at the Office of the United 
States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, 110 West Vine 
Street, Lexington, KY 40507, and at U.S. EPA Region 4, Office of 
Regional Counsel, 61 Forsyth Street, Atlanta, GA 30303. During the 
public comment period, the consent decree may also be examined on the 
following Department of Justice Web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/open.html. A copy of the consent decree

[[Page 60855]]

may also be obtained by mail from the Consent Decree Library, P.O. Box 
7611, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611 or by 
faxing or e-mailing a request to Tonia Fleetwood 
([email protected]), fax no. (202) 514-0097, phone confirmation 
number (202) 514-1547. In requesting a copy from the Consent Decree 
Library, please enclose a check in the amount of $18.75 (25 cents per 
page reproduction cost) payable to the U.S. Treasury.

Ellen M. Mahan,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 05-20933 Filed 10-18-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M