[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 206 (Thursday, October 26, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Page 49680]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-23259]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Oil 
Pollution Act

    On October 19, 2017, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Consent Decree (``Consent Decree'') with the United States District 
Court for the District of Massachusetts in the lawsuit entitled United 
States, et al. v. Bouchard Transportation Company, Inc., et al., Civil 
Action No. 1:17-cv-12046-NMG.
    The proposed Consent Decree will settle claims of the United States 
(on behalf of the Department of Commerce/National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration and the Department of the Interior/Fish and 
Wildlife Service), the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the State of 
Rhode Island for injuries to birds (other than piping plover) under the 
Oil Pollution Act, 33 U.S.C. 2701, et seq., (``Trustees'') against 
Bouchard Transportation Company, Inc., and related companies 
(``Defendants''), caused by an oil spill from the tank barge Bouchard 
No. 120 which occurred in April 2003 in Buzzards Bay. Under the 
proposed Consent Decree, the Defendants will pay $13,300,000 to the 
Trustees as damages for injuries to wildlife resources, as defined in 
the Consent Decree. The payment will be used to plan for and implement 
the restoration, rehabilitation, replacement, or acquisition of the 
equivalent of the damaged resources. In addition, the Defendants 
acknowledge payment of almost $3,500,000 to the Trustees for 
reimbursement of their assessment costs. The proposed Consent Decree is 
the second settlement between the Trustees and the Defendants for 
injuries to natural resources caused by the oil spill. Under the first 
settlement, entered by the District Court in 2011, the Defendants paid 
the Trustees $6,076,393 for injuries to other natural resources caused 
by the oil spill.
    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, et al. v. Bouchard Transportation 
Company, Inc., et al., D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-08159/1. 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 $22.75 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost), payable to the United States Treasury.

Robert E. Maher, Jr.,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2017-23259 Filed 10-25-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-15-P