[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 81 (Tuesday, April 28, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 23596]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09762]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    Notice is hereby given that, for a period of 30 days, the United 
States will receive public comments on a proposed Consent Decree in 
United States and State of Arkansas v. ExxonMobil Pipeline Company and 
Mobil Pipe Line Company (Civil Action No. 4:13-cv-0355), which was 
lodged with the United States District Court for the Eastern District 
of Arkansas on April 22, 2015.
    This case concerns a March 2013 oil spill from the Pegasus 
Pipeline, which is a crude oil pipeline owned and operated by the 
defendants (collectively, ``ExxonMobil''). The spill occurred after the 
pipeline ruptured in the town of Mayflower, Arkansas, sending several 
thousand barrels of oil through a neighborhood, creek, wetlands, and a 
cove of Lake Conway. A Complaint in this case was filed jointly by the 
United States and the State of Arkansas against ExxonMobil on June 13, 
2013, alleging violations of sections 301(a) and 311(b)(7)(A) of the 
Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1311(a), 1321(b)(7)(A), and State claims 
pursuant to the Arkansas Water and Air Pollution Control Act and the 
Arkansas Hazardous Waste Management Act. ARK. CODE ANN. section 8-7-201 
et seq.; ARK. CODE ANN. section 8-4-101 et seq.; ARK. CODE ANN. section 
8-4-101 et seq. The Complaint seeks the assessment of civil penalties 
and injunctive relief for the alleged CWA and State law violations.
    The Consent Decree proposes to resolve this civil action by 
requiring ExxonMobil to perform corrective measures focused on pipeline 
safety and spill response preparedness, pay a federal civil penalty of 
$3.19 million and a state civil penalty of $1 million, fund a 
supplemental environmental project focused on improving water quality 
in Lake Conway worth $600,000, and pay state litigation costs of 
$280,000.
    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 v. ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, D.J. 
Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-10862. 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, D.C. 20044-7611.
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    During the public comment period, the proposed Consent Decree may 
be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department 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 $8.50 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.

Thomas Carroll,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2015-09762 Filed 4-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-15-P