[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 110 (Friday, June 7, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Page 26705]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-11981]



[[Page 26705]]

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean 
Water Act and Oil Pollution Act

    On June 3, 2019, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the Western 
District of Washington in the lawsuit entitled United States, State of 
Washington through the Washington Department of Ecology, Suquamish 
Tribe, and Tulalip Tribes v. Port of Everett, Civil Action No. 2:19-cv-
00843.
    The proposed Consent Decree resolves claims alleged by the U.S. 
Department of the Interior, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, the State of Washington, the Suquamish Tribe, and the 
Tulalip Tribes (``the Port Gardner Bay Trustees'') against the 
Defendant Port of Everett (``the Port'') for natural resource damages 
caused by discharges of hazardous substances and oil to the Port 
Gardner Bay Area in Everett, Washington. The settlement requires the 
Port to construct and maintain the Blue Heron Slough Restoration 
Project, which will restore 338 acres of intertidal estuarine and 
upland habitats in the lower Snohomish River estuary, and to resolve 
its liability by retiring conservation bank credits equivalent to 
approximately 35 acres of the Project. The Port will also pay a 
proportionate share of assessment costs incurred by the Port Gardner 
Bay Trustees, totaling $703,496. The United States, on behalf of the 
U.S. Navy, will make a payment of $789,840 to be used towards 
construction of the Project, and pay assessment costs totaling 
$135,931. In exchange for the payment from the Navy and prior 
settlement payments from other parties, the Port will retire additional 
conservation bank credits equivalent to approximately 36 additional 
acres of the Project. The Port and the Navy will receive covenants not 
to sue under federal statutory law and state statutory or common law, 
for natural resource damages caused by discharges of hazardous 
substances and oil from their facilities (identified in Appendix B to 
the Decree) to the Port Gardner Bay Area.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and 
should refer to United States, State of Washington through the 
Washington Department of Ecology, Suquamish Tribe, and Tulalip Tribes 
v. Port of Everett, D.J. Ref. No. 90-11-3-10859/1. 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, 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 $47.00 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury. For a paper 
copy without appendices, the cost is $19.00.

Susan Akers,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-11981 Filed 6-6-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-15-P