[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 25, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8435-8436]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-01571]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    On January 17, 2017, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the Eastern 
District of Texas in the lawsuit entitled United States and the State 
of Texas v. City of Tyler, Texas, Civil Action No. 6:17-cv-00029.
    The United States of America and the State of Texas (collectively, 
``Plaintiffs'') filed a complaint against the City of Tyler, Texas, 
(``Defendant'') alleging that Defendant violated and continues to 
violate Section 301 of the Clean Water Act (``CWA''), 33 U.S.C. 1311, 
and Section 26.121(a)(1) of the Texas Water Code (``TWC'') by 
discharging raw sewage from the City of Tyler's wastewater collection 
and treatment systems (``WCTS'') into or adjacent to local waterways. 
The complaint further alleges that Defendant failed to comply with the 
terms and conditions of its two Texas Pollutant Discharge Elimination 
System permits, issued pursuant to Section 402 of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. 
1342, and in violation of Section 7.101 of the TWC, due to operational 
failures, Defendant's failure to issue all necessary reports required 
by its permits, and Defendant's failure to adequately safeguard against 
discharges during power outages. The complaint alleges violations have 
been ongoing since 2005. The Plaintiffs seek injunctive relief, 
pursuant to Section 309(b) of the CWA, 33 U.S.C. 1319(b), and Section 
7.032 of the TWC, and civil penalties, pursuant to Section 309(d) of 
the CWA,

[[Page 8436]]

33 U.S.C. 1321(b), and Section 7.101 of the TWC.
    Under the proposed settlement, Defendant will perform injunctive 
relief aimed at upgrading and advancing the physical and operational 
state of its WCTS. Specifically, Defendant must improve employee 
training and the daily operation of its WCTS; overhaul its inspection 
forms and recordkeeping procedures; assess the condition of the entire 
WCTS and remediate certain defects identified; study WCTS capacity to 
identify potential capacity constraints in the system and address 
field-verified confirmed capacity constraints; install adequate backup 
power to manage untreated wastewater in the event of electrical 
failures; and identify and permanently remove certain discovered 
locations that could divert untreated wastewater from the WCTS to 
waters or otherwise into the environment. The proposed Consent Decree 
also requires Defendant to pay a $563,000 civil penalty to the United 
States and Texas, to be split equally by Plaintiffs, and to pay the 
State of Texas an additional $30,000 in attorney's fees.
    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 and the State of Texas v. City of 
Tyler, Texas, D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-09767. 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 Justice Department Web site: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. 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 $36.50 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury. For a paper 
copy requested without the exhibits and signature pages, the cost is 
$21.25.

 Thomas P. Carroll,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2017-01571 Filed 1-24-17; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P