[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 147 (Thursday, July 31, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44463-44464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-18047]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    On July 28, 2014, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the Northern 
District of California in the lawsuit entitled United States of America 
et al. v. East Bay Municipal Utility District et al., Consolidated 
Civil Action Nos. C 09-00186 and 09-05684.
    The United States of America and the People of the State of 
California ex rel. California State Water Resources Control Board and 
California Regional Water Quality Control Board, San Francisco Bay 
Region (together ``Water Boards''), and Plaintiff-Intervenors San 
Francisco Baykeeper (``Baykeeper'') and Our Children's Earth Foundation 
(``Our Children's Earth''), brought claims under Sections 301 and 402 
of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. Sec.  1251, et seq., against East Bay 
Municipal Utility District (``EBMUD'') and seven municipal defendants, 
including the City of Alameda, the City of Albany, the City of 
Berkeley, the City of Emeryville, the City of Oakland, the City of 
Piedmont and the Stege Sanitary District (together ``Satellite 
Communities'').
    The United States, the Water Boards, Baykeeper and Our Children's 
Earth allege that (1) EBMUD is in violation of the Clean Water Act and 
its National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (``NPDES'') permit 
because it discharges from three wet weather facilities that have been 
prohibited since 2009; (2) the Satellite Communities are in violation 
of the Act and the operation and maintenance provisions of their NPDES 
permits because they contribute excessive flow to collection and 
treatment systems owned and operated by EBMUD, which causes EBMUD to

[[Page 44464]]

discharge from the wet weather facilities; and (3) all defendants are 
in violation of the Clean Water Act and their NPDES permits because 
they have unlawful sanitary sewer overflows (``SSOs'') during wet 
weather.
    The proposed Consent Decree implements a regional asset management 
program that puts the defendants on a path to eliminate prohibited wet 
weather facility discharges by December 31, 2035, and to control SSOs 
within ten years of Decree entry. Among other things, the defendants 
will rehabilitate and clean sanitary sewer infrastructure, identify and 
eliminate sources of inflow and rapid infiltration to the sewer 
systems, and continue to require repair or replacement of private sewer 
laterals under local and regional ordinances.
    In addition, each defendant will pay a civil penalty for its past 
violations, for a total of $1,563,556 in civil penalties. EBMUD will 
pay $201,600; the City of Alameda will pay $111,150; the City of Albany 
will pay $42,038; the City of Berkeley will pay $267,000; the City of 
Emeryville will pay $1,870; the City of Oakland will pay $850,000; the 
City of Piedmont will pay $41,038; and the Stege Sanitary District will 
pay $48,860.
    The proposed Consent Decree replaces a January 2009 interim 
settlement with EBMUD and a March 2011 interim settlement with the 
Satellite Communities.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the proposed Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
and should refer to United States of America et al. v. East Bay 
Municipal Utility District et al., D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-09361. All 
comments must be submitted no later than thirty (30) days after the 
publication date of this notice. Comments may be submitted either by 
email or by mail:

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         To submit comments:                     Send them to:
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By email............................  [email protected].
By mail.............................  Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
                                       DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
                                       Washington, DC 20044-7611.
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    During the public comment period, the proposed Consent Decree may 
be examined and downloaded at this Department of Justice Web site: 
http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. We will provide a 
paper copy of the proposed Consent Decree upon written request and 
payment of reproduction costs. Please mail your request and payment to: 
Consent Decree Library, U.S. DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 
20044-7611.

Please enclose a check or money order for $54.25 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the U.S. Treasury.

Henry Friedman,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2014-18047 Filed 7-30-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P