[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 58 (Tuesday, March 26, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 11327]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-05711]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Safe 
Drinking Water Act

    On March 18, 2019, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
consent decree with the United States District Court for the Eastern 
District of New York in the lawsuit entitled United States of America 
v. City of New York and New York City Department of Environmental 
Protection, Civil Action No. 1:19-cv-01519-RJD-CLP.
    The United States filed this lawsuit to seek civil penalties and 
injunctive relief for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 
U.S.C. 300f, et seq. The alleged violations stem from the City's 
failure to place a cover over its Hillview Reservoir, a 90-acre 
treated-water reservoir in Yonkers. The reservoir holds water destined 
for consumers in New York City. The water arrives at the reservoir 
after being disinfected at the City's upstream Catskill-Delaware Water 
Ultraviolet Disinfection Facility, sometimes referred to as the 
Eastview facility, in central Westchester. The purpose of covering the 
reservoir is to protect the disinfected water from microbial 
recontamination during storage. The cover is required by the Long Term 
2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule. 40 CFR 141.714.
    The proposed consent decree will require the City to build the 
cover. At times during cover construction, the City will operate only 
one of the reservoir's two (``East'' and ``West'') basins while the 
other basin is off-line during construction of that basin's cover (so-
called ``single basin operation''). The City represents that to ensure 
reliable water delivery during single basin operation, two precursor 
projects must be completed first. These two projects are the Kensico-
Eastview Connection and the Hillview Reservoir Improvements. The 
Kensico-Eastview Connection will be a new underground aqueduct between 
the Eastview facility and the further upstream Kensico Reservoir. The 
Hillview Reservoir Improvements will include replacing sluice gates and 
building a new connection between the reservoir and downstream water 
distribution tunnels. These two precursor projects will be built on 
parallel schedules. The proposed consent decree will require the City 
to complete the Hillview Reservoir Improvements by 2033 and the 
Kensico-Eastview Connection by 2035. After that, the City will be 
required to build the East Basin cover, with full operation to start by 
2042. The City will then be required to build the West Basin cover, 
with full operation to start by 2049.
    The proposed consent decree also requires the City to pay the 
United States a civil penalty of $1 million for the City's past 
violations of federal requirements. In addition, the consent decree 
provides that the City will pay New York State a civil penalty of 
$50,000 and perform a state Water Quality Benefit Project to settle the 
State's claim for penalties for violations of a state administrative 
order. The Water Quality Benefit Project will establish a redundant 
supervisory control and data acquisition control center. This ``SCADA'' 
control center will allow more reliable operation of the City water 
supply's SCADA system.
    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 v. City of New York and 
New York City Department of Environmental Protection, D.J. Ref. No. 90-
5-1-1-10223/1. 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 e-mail...........................  [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 consent decree may be 
examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. We will provide a paper copy of 
the 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 $28.75 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.

Robert Maher,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-05711 Filed 3-25-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-15-P