[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 141 (Tuesday, July 22, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42594-42595]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-16736]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Safe Drinking Water 
Act

    Notice is hereby given that on July 16, 2008, a proposed Consent 
Decree (the ``Decree'') in United States v. City of Middletown, New 
York, Civil Action No. 08 Civ. 6369 (SCR) (LMS) was lodged with the 
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
    In a complaint, filed simultaneously with the Decree, the United 
States charged that the City of Middletown (the ``City'') violated the 
Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300f, et seq., by violating the 
Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, found at 40 CFR part 
141, subpart P; 40 CFR 141.170-141.175 (``IESWTR''), and specifically 
failing to comply with the February 28, 2006 deadline, set in an 
Administrative Order issued by EPA against the City on

[[Page 42595]]

March 31, 2004, to issue a notice to proceed in connection with the 
construction of a full scale water treatment plant to replace the 
existing, inadequate Monhagen Water Treatment Plant.
    Pursuant to the Decree, the City shall construct a water treatment 
facility to filter the drinking water it draws from surface water 
sources. The Decree requires the City to complete construction of the 
facility by April 30, 2010, pursuant to a schedule of eight interim 
construction milestones.
    The Decree further requires the City to implement a number of 
interim measures to protect the quality of its drinking water until the 
City has fully complied with the long term construction of the water 
treatment facility. For example, the Decree mandates ongoing monitoring 
of the water that the City obtains from surface water sources, as well 
as monthly reporting of the monitoring data to EPA, the State of New 
York and Orange County.
    The City will pay a $50,000 civil monetary penalty to the United 
States pursuant to the Decree. The City must also carry out an 
environmental project to conserve and improve the water quality in and 
around the City. Specifically, the City will implement an environmental 
project to collect the backwash water from the proposed water treatment 
plant for recycling to the head of the water treatment plant. The 
implementation of recycling will prevent the backwash from being 
discharged into the same surface water from which the City obtains its 
drinking water. The recycling project will also provide an alternative 
to discharging the filter backwash water into the City's sanitary sewer 
system as under the current system, with the anticipated result that 
approximately 62 million gallons of water per year will be conserved. 
The value of this supplemental environmental project is estimated at 
$490,000.
    The Department of Justice will receive, for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication, comments relating to the 
Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, 
Environment and Natural Resources Division, and either e-mailed to 
[email protected] or mailed to P.O. Box 7611, U.S. 
Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611, and should refer to 
United States v. City of Middletown, New York, D.J. Ref. 90-5-1-1-
09111.
    The Decree may be examined at the Office of the United States 
Attorney, 86 Chambers Street, 3rd Floor, New York, New York 10007, and 
at U.S. EPA Region 2, Office of Regional Counsel, 290 Broadway, New 
York, New York 10007-1866. During the public comment period, the 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 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 
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 $4.75 (25 cents per 
page reproduction cost) payable to the U.S. Treasury or, if by e-mail 
or fax, forward a check in that amount to the Consent Decree Library at 
the stated address.

Maureen Katz,
Assistant Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
 [FR Doc. E8-16736 Filed 7-21-08; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P