[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 72 (Friday, April 12, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 25901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-07688]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean 
Water Act and Oil Pollution Act

    On April 8, 2024, the Department of Justice filed a complaint under 
the Clean Water Act and the Oil Pollution Act 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. Flint Hills Resources Ingleside, LLC, Civil Action 
No. 2:24-cv-00079.
    The complaint alleges that the defendant, Flint Hills Resources, 
Ingleside, LLC, is civilly liable for violation of section 311 of the 
Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1321, and for natural resource damages under 
section 1002 of the Oil Pollution Act, 33 U.S.C. 2702. The State of 
Texas is a co-plaintiff for the natural resource damages claims. The 
complaint addresses the discharge of about 14,000 gallons of crude oil 
that spilled into Corpus Christi Bay from a ruptured pipe on a dock at 
the defendant's crude oil storage terminal in Ingleside, Texas, on the 
night of December 24, 2022. The complaint further alleges that the oil 
impacted water quality, beach, and marsh areas and harmed a variety of 
fish and wildlife, including birds and sea turtles.
    To resolve the claims, the company will pay a total of $989,212.80. 
Under the proposed consent decree, the company will pay the United 
States $400,000 in civil penalties for the Clean Water Act oil 
discharge violation. This claim is brought by the United States on 
behalf of the United States Coast Guard. The penalties paid for this 
claim will be deposited in the federal Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund 
managed by the National Pollution Funds Center. The Oil Spill Liability 
Trust Fund is used to pay for federal response activities and to 
compensate for damages when there is a discharge or substantial threat 
of discharge of oil or hazardous substances to waters of the United 
States or adjoining shorelines.
    The company will also pay the United States and the State of Texas, 
on behalf of the federal and State natural resource trustees, 
$589,212.80 as natural resource damages under the Oil Pollution Act. 
The federal trustees are the Department of the Interior, through the 
Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Department of Commerce's National 
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The State trustees are the 
Texas General Land Office, the Texas Commission on Environmental 
Quality, and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. Pursuant to the 
Oil Pollution Act, each trustee acts on behalf of the public to seek 
damages for the injury to, destruction of, or loss of natural resources 
resulting from the discharge of oil into the environment. Under the 
consent decree, the defendant's payment provides for $427,000 of the 
total to be used by the trustees to design, implement, and oversee 
natural resource restoration projects to compensate for the injuries 
resulting from the oil discharge. The rest of the funds will be used to 
repay the trustees for each agency's work to assess the injuries to 
natural resources. The United States and the State are coordinating 
injury assessment and restoration efforts.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the proposed consent decree. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
and should refer to United States of America and State of Texas v. 
Flint Hills Resources Ingleside, LLC, D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-12902. 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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    Any comments submitted in writing may be filed in whole or in part 
on the public court docket without notice to the commenter.
    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. If you require assistance 
accessing the consent decree, you may request assistance by email or by 
mail to the addresses provided above for submitting comments.

Thomas Carroll,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-07688 Filed 4-11-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P