[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 76 (Wednesday, April 20, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 23569-23570]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-08444]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Amendment To Consent Decree Under 
the Safe Drinking Water Act

    On April 13, 2022, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
amendment to the consent decree with the United States District Court 
for the Eastern District of New York in United States v. City of New 
York and New York City Department of Environmental Protection, Civil 
Action No. CV-19-1519 (E.D.N.Y.).
    The United States filed this lawsuit in 2019 under the Safe 
Drinking Water Act (``Act''). The complaint sought injunctive relief 
and civil penalties for violations of the Act related to the City's 
failure to install a cover for its Hillview Reservoir, a finished water 
storage facility located in Yonkers, New York, in violation of the Long 
Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule, 40 CFR 141, subpart W. A 
consent decree was entered by the Court on May 15, 2019, which requires 
the City to design and construct the cover for the Reservoir, as well 
as design and construct two major predecessor projects necessary to 
achieve compliance with the cover requirement.
    One of these major predecessor projects is a set of repairs and 
improvements to the Hillview Reservoir facilities known as the 
``Hillview Reservoir Improvements.'' Under the existing consent decree, 
the Hillview Reservoir Improvements includes the construction of a new 
hydraulic interconnection between the Hillview Reservoir and two of the 
City's distribution tunnels (the ``East Basin Interconnection'') as one 
of the subprojects. Since the entry of the consent decree in 2019, the 
City has conducted additional studies and design work which indicate 
that construction of the East Basin Interconnection as part of the 
Hillview Reservoir Improvements would not facilitate other repairs that 
are part of the Hillview Reservoir Improvements as originally 
anticipated and would unnecessarily complicate operation of the East 
Basin of the Reservoir prior to its shutdown for cover construction. 
Accordingly, the proposed amendment to the consent decree provides for 
the deferral of the East Basin Interconnection subproject to the 
Hillview Cover Project phase of the consent decree, which will allow 
the East Basin Interconnection to be constructed at a time when the 
East Basin of the Reservoir would not be in operation anyway as it 
would be shut down for cover construction. The revised schedule in the 
amendment to

[[Page 23570]]

the consent decree does not eliminate any requirements of the consent 
decree or change the end date for compliance.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the amendment to the consent decree. Comments should be addressed to 
the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources 
Division, and should refer to United States v. City of New York and New 
York City Department of Environmental Protection, D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-
1-10223/1. 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 proposed amendment to 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 proposed amendment 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 $2.75 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.

Henry S. Friedman,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2022-08444 Filed 4-19-22; 8:45 am]
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