[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]
 BILLING CODE 4410-15-P