[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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