[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