[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 7, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39041-39042]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-16463]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean 
Water Act

    Notice is hereby given that on June 16, 2010, a Consent Decree in 
United States of America, et al. v. JBS Souderton, Inc., Civil Action 
No. 08-5999, was lodged with the United States District Court for the 
Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The proposed Consent Decree obligates 
JBS Souderton, Inc. (``JBS''), a large beef processing and rendering 
facility located outside of Philadelphia, to re-construct the system 
that collects wastewater and conveys that wastewater to its wastewater 
treatment plant. The Consent Decree further obligates JBS to modernize 
its operation and maintenance by

[[Page 39042]]

improving its employee training, its asset management, its 
recordkeeping, and its computer based monitoring systems. Finally, the 
Consent Decree requires JBS to pay a civil penalty of $2,000,000, 
$950,000 of which will be made to the federal government, $950,000 of 
which will be made to the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection, and $100,000 of which will be made to the Pennsylvania Fish 
and Boat Commission. Both the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental 
Protection and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission are co-
plaintiffs to the Consent Decree.
    The Consent Decree resolves the claims asserted by the federal 
government in a Complaint filed in December 2008.\1\ The Complaint 
alleged that, by discharging pollutants into the navigable waters of 
the United States, JBS violated Section 301 of the Clean Water Act, 33 
U.S.C. 1311, and the terms of a National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System (``NPDES'') permit issued by Pennsylvania under 
Section 402 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1342, and Section 202 of 
the Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law, 35 P.S. Sec.  691.202. In 
particular, the Complaint alleges that, on nine separate occasions, JBS 
spilled untreated waste into waters of the United States, causing two 
fish kills. The Complaint further alleges that, on 25 separate 
occasions, JBS discharged into waters of the United States wastewater 
that contained pollutants in excess of the effluent limits set by the 
NPDES permit. And, the Complaint alleges that, during a five-year 
period, JBS failed to operate and maintain its facility in a manner 
that would have ensured its compliance with its obligations under 
federal and state environmental statutes and regulations.
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    \1\ Both the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 
and the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission have intervened in the 
case.
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    The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication comments relating to this 
proposed Consent 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, Attention: 
Nancy Flickinger (EES), and should refer to United States, et al. v. 
JBS Souderton, Inc., Civil Action No. 08-5999, DOJ  90-5-1-1-
09583.
    The proposed Consent Decree may be examined at the Office of the 
United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, 615 
Chestnut Street, Suite 1250, Philadelphia, PA 19016. The consent decree 
also may 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 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 $16.75 (25 cents per 
page reproduction cost for a full copy) payable to the U.S. Treasury.

Maureen Katz,
Assistant Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2010-16463 Filed 7-6-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P