[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 230 (Friday, December 3, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Page 68686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26307]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Oil
Pollution Act
On November 30, 2021, the Department of Justice and the Texas
Office of the Attorney General filed a civil Complaint and lodged a
proposed Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the
Southern District of Texas in the lawsuit entitled United States of
America and State of Texas v. Kirby Inland Marine, LP, Civil Action No.
3:21-cv-00335. The United States is acting at the request of the
designated federal trustees for natural resources: The Department of
Commerce through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
and the United States Department of the Interior through the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service. The
State of Texas is acting through its designated State trustees: The
Texas General Land Office, the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
This is a civil action brought against Defendant Kirby Inland
Marine, LP for recovery of damages for injury to, destruction of, loss
of, or loss of use of natural resources, under Section 1002 of the Oil
Pollution Act, 33 U.S.C. 2702. The United States and Texas seek damages
in order to compensate for and restore natural resources injured by
Kirby's oil discharge that occurred in the Houston Ship Channel at the
Texas City ``Y'' crossing on March 22, 2014. The United States and the
State also seek to recover unreimbursed costs of assessing such
injuries.
The Complaint in this natural resource damages case was filed
against Kirby concurrently with the lodging of the proposed Consent
Decree. The Complaint alleges that Kirby is liable for damages under
the Oil Pollution Act. The Complaint alleges that oil was discharged
from a Kirby barge during a collision in the Ship Channel and that
natural resources were injured as a result of the discharge.
Kirby will pay $15,334,768.83 under the proposed Consent Decree. Of
this total, $15.3 million is designated for the trustees to restore,
replace, or acquire the equivalent of the natural resources allegedly
injured, destroyed, or lost as a result of the oil spill, and the
remaining amount will go to reimburse the trustees for their remaining
unpaid assessment costs.
The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on
the proposed Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Acting
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division,
and should refer to United States of America and State of Texas v.
Kirby Inland Marine, LP, D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-11096/1. All comments
must be submitted no later than thirty (30) days after the publication
date of this notice. Comments may be submitted by either 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 website: 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 $6.75 (25 cents per page
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.
Thomas Carroll,
Assistant Section Chief,Environmental Enforcement Section,Environment
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2021-26307 Filed 12-2-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-CW-P