[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 8 (Friday, January 11, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 2066-2067]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 08-53]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act

    Notice is hereby given that on December 28, 2007, a proposed 
Consent Decree in United States and State of Indiana v. City of Fort 
Wayne, Indiana, Civ. No. 2:07-cv-00445, was lodged with the United 
States District Court for the Northern District of Indiana.
    In this action, the United States seeks civil penalties and 
injunctive relief for violations of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 
1251, et seq., in connection with the City of Fort Wayne's operation of 
its municipal wastewater and sewer system. The City currently 
discharges approximately one billion gallons of untreated sewage per 
year from various locations into the St. Joseph, St. Mary's, and Maumee 
Rivers, both directly and

[[Page 2067]]

through their tributaries. The Complaint alleges that the City's 
discharges, which occur approximately 60 times per year, violate the 
Clean Water Act, either because the discharges violate limitations and 
conditions in the City's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination 
System (NPDES) permit, or because the discharges are from point sources 
not authorized by the City's NPDES permit. The Complaint also asserts 
claims by the State of Indiana for comparable violations of state law.
    Under the proposed Consent Decree, the City would be required to: 
(1) Implement injunctive measures to address combined sewer overflows 
(CSOs) and sanitary sewer overflows (SSOs), at a total cost of 
approximately $250 million; (2) pay the United States a civil penalty 
of $269,190; (3) perform a federal Supplemental Environmental Project 
(SEP) valued at $400,000; and (4) either pay the State of Indiana a 
civil penalty of $269,190, or pay the State a civil penalty of $26,190 
and complete state SEPs costing at least $484,542. Under the proposed 
Consent Decree, the injunctive relief is to be implemented over an 18-
year period and is designed to eliminate SSOs and reduce the number of 
CSOs to approximately one per year on the St. Joseph River and four per 
year on the St. Mary's and Maumee Rivers.
    For a period of 30 days from the date of this publication, the 
Department of Justice will receive comments relating to the proposed 
Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney 
General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and should refer 
to United States and State of Indiana v. City of Fort Wayne, Indiana, 
D.J. Ref. 90-5-1-1-07653. Comments should either be e-mailed to 
[email protected] or mailed to P.O. Box 7611, Washington, 
DC 20044-7611.
    The proposed Consent Decree may be examined at the Office of the 
United States Attorney, Northern District of Indiana, 5400 Federal 
Plaza, Suite 1500, Hammond, IN 46320-1843 (contact Assistant United 
States Attorney Wayne Ault (219/937-5500)), and at the U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, 
Chicago, IL 60604-3590 (contact Associate Regional Counsel Nicole 
Cantello (312/886-2870)). During the public comment period, the 
proposed Consent Decree may also be examined on the following 
Department of Justice Web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. A copy of the proposed Consent Decree 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 e-mailing or 
faxing a request to Tonia Fleetwood ([email protected], fax 
number (202) 514-0097, phone confirmation number (202) 514-1547). In 
requesting a copy from the Consent Decree Library, please enclose a 
check payable to the United States Treasury in the amount of $15.50 (25 
cents per page reproduction cost) for a copy of the Consent Decree 
without appendices, or a check in the amount of $385.50 for the Consent 
Decree and all appendices. If the request is made by fax or e-mail, 
please forward a check in the appropriate amount to the Consent Decree 
Library at the address stated above.

William Brighton,
Assistant Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 08-53 Filed 1-10-08; 8:45 am]
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