[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 138 (Wednesday, July 18, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42332-42333]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17417]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    Notice is hereby given that on July 2, 2012, a proposed Consent 
Decree Modification (``Modification'') in United States and State of 
New Hampshire v. City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Civil Action No. 
09-CV-283-PB, was lodged with the United States District Court for the 
District of New Hampshire.
    The Modification modifies a Consent Decree between the parties 
which was entered by the federal district court on September 24, 2009 
(``Decree''). The Decree resolved claims of the United States and State 
of New Hampshire against the City of Portsmouth, New Hampshire (the 
``City''), pursuant to Section 301(a) of the Clean Water Act (``CWA''), 
33 U.S.C. 1301(a).
    The Decree required the City, among other things, to control 
discharges from the combined sewer overflow (``CSO'') outfalls, propose 
a schedule for construction of a secondary wastewater treatment 
facility for approval by the United States Environmental Protection 
Agency, and upon inclusion of the schedule in the Decree, comply with 
the construction schedule. The City encountered unexpected geological 
conditions that impaired the City's ability to meet the previously-
designated CSO mitigation construction schedule. The Modification 
extends the completion deadline for the CSO projects by one year--until 
October 2014. Pursuant to the requirements in the Decree, the City 
proposed a detailed schedule for constructing secondary treatment 
facilities. The Modification requires the City to complete construction 
of secondary treatment facilities by March, 2017.
    The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication comments relating to the 
Modification. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney 
General, Environmental and Natural Resources Division, and either 
emailed 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 and State of New Hampshire v. City of Portsmouth, New 
Hampshire, Civil Action No. 09-CV-283-PB, D.J. Ref. 90-5-1-1-09308.
    During the public comment period, the Modification, may also be 
examined on the following Department of Justice Web site, http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. A copy of the

[[Page 42333]]

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 emailing a request to ``Consent Decree 
Copy'' ([email protected]), fax no. (202) 514-0097, phone 
confirmation number (202) 514-5271. In requesting a copy from the 
Consent Decree Library, please enclose a check in the amount of $2.75 
(25 cents per page reproduction cost) payable to the U.S. Treasury or, 
if by email or fax, forward a check in that amount to the Consent 
Decree Library at the stated address.

Ronald Gluck,
Assistant Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2012-17417 Filed 7-17-12; 8:45 am]
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