[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 170 (Tuesday, September 3, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46049-46050]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-18889]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean
Water Act
On August 27, 2019, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed
Consent
[[Page 46050]]
Decree with the United States District Court for the Southern of Texas
in the lawsuit entitled United States and State of Texas v. City of
Houston, Texas, Civil Action No. 4:18-cv-03368.
The United States and the State of Texas filed a joint Complaint
against the City, pursuant to Section 309(b) and (d) of the Clean Water
Act, 33 U.S.C. 1319(b) and (d) and provisions of the Texas Water Code.
The Complaint seeks, inter alia, injunctive relief to address and
eliminate illegal discharges, namely sanitary sewer overflows,
occurring from the City's wastewater collection and transmission system
and (b) discharges of pollutants from wastewater treatment plants that
exceed effluent limits established in state-issued permits. Under the
proposed Consent Decree, the City will implement comprehensive
injunctive relief measures to eliminate both SSOs and effluent
violations, as well as measures to prevent such violations. The City
will pay a civil penalty of $4.4 million, which amount will be shared
equally by the United States and the State.
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 and State of Texas v. City of Houston,
Texas, D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-08687/1. 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 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 $39.25 (25 cents per page
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury. For a paper
copy without the exhibits and signature pages, the cost is $20.50.
Jeffrey Sands,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2019-18889 Filed 8-30-19; 8:45 am]
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