[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 26, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 4723]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-1570]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of a Consent Decree Modification Pursuant to 
The Clean Water Act

    Notice is hereby given that a proposed modification to a Consent 
Decree entered in United States of America and the Commonwealth of 
Kentucky v. Winchester Municipal Utilities and City of Winchester, Civ. 
No. 06-102-KSF, was lodged on January 19, 2011, with the United States 
District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Central Division.
    The Consent Decree was entered by the Court on April 11, 2007, and 
resolves claims under Sections 301 and 402 of the Clean Water Act, 33 
U.S.C. 1251, et seq., against the City of Winchester (``City'') and 
Winchester Municipal Utilities (``WMU''), through the performance of 
injunctive measures, the payment of a civil penalty, and the 
performance of a Supplemental Environmental Project (``SEP''). The 
United States and the Commonwealth of Kentucky alleged that the City 
and WMU are liable as persons who discharged a pollutant from a point 
source to navigable waters of the United States without a permit.
    The proposed modification to the Consent Decree would replace the 
existing obligation to perform a SEP, with an obligation to perform a 
different SEP. The Decree currently requires the City and WMU to 
perform a SEP valued at $230,000, which is designed to abate stormwater 
runoff pollution to an impaired waterway. After spending $27,000 on 
testing, the City and WMU have determined that the SEP will not achieve 
the environmental benefits they originally anticipated. The City and 
WMU considered another stream restoration project as an alternate, but 
easements could not be obtained and further consideration of that 
project was abandoned.
    The proposed modification to the Consent Decree would obligate the 
City and WMU to prepare a watershed management plan for the Lower 
Howards Creek Watershed (``LHCW'') instead of the original SEP. The 
LHCW is the locus of many of the City and WMU's most significant SSOs, 
and some of the injunctive relief in the Consent Decree is aimed at 
eliminating SSOs and improving water quality in the LHCW. The plan 
would outline specific areas of concern and identify potential projects 
for the LHCW. The City and WMU would make the plan available to the 
public, and work with public officials, environmental and conservation 
groups, and citizens who are interested in improving water quality in 
the LHCW. The City and WMU would be required to spend $203,000 on the 
watershed management plan, and they would receive a credit for the 
$27,000 they've already spent on the testing phase of the original SEP.
    The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication comments relating to the 
proposed modification to the 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, and should refer to United States 
v. Winchester Municipal Utilities, DJ No. 90-5-1-1-08806.
    The proposed Consent Decree modification may be examined at the 
office of the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of 
Kentucky, 110 West Vine Street, Suite 400, Lexington KY 40507-1671, and 
at the Region 4 Office of the Environmental Protection Agency, Atlanta 
Federal Center, 61 Forsyth Street, SW., Atlanta GA 30303. 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 Consent Decree modification 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 $2.50 (25 cents per page reproduction cost) 
payable to the U.S. Treasury. The check should refer to United States 
v. Winchester Municipal Utilities, DJ No. 90-5-1-1-08806.

Maureen Katz,
Assistant Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2011-1570 Filed 1-25-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P