[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 137 (Wednesday, July 17, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Page 58189]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-15662]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Fifth Amendment To Consent Decree 
and Consolidated Fifth Amended Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act

    On July 10, 2024, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed Fifth 
Amendment to Consent Decree and Consolidated Fifth Amended Consent 
Decree (collectively, the ``Fifth Amendment'') with the United States 
District Court for the Northern District of Ohio in the lawsuit 
entitled United States and State of Ohio v. Northeast Ohio Regional 
Sewer District, Civil Action No. 1:10-CV-02895-DCN.
    The Consent Decree, as currently amended, requires NEORSD to 
construct and implement improvements to reduce the volume and number of 
combined sewage overflows (sanitary and commercial sewage combined with 
stormwater) and untreated treatment plant discharges from NEORSD's 
system by constructing six underground storage tunnels, other storage 
devices, and green infrastructure, and by increasing the capacity of 
each of NEORSD's sewage treatment plants. The proposed Fifth Amendment 
modifies two Consent Decree requirements.
    First, the Fifth Amendment resolves obstacles that NEORSD has 
encountered in trying to meet a requirement that green infrastructure 
(as defined by the Consent Decree) capture at least 44 million gallons 
of stormwater in a typical year to allow for more storage for combined 
sewer flows. Instead, the Fifth Amendment will require NEORSD to 
increase the size of five of the deep tunnels to capture increased 
combined sewer flow rather than using green infrastructure alone, and 
to extend the time to complete the work needed to meet the 44-million-
gallon capture requirement up to December 31, 2034, because of the time 
required to complete the tunnels. The Fifth Amendment also changes the 
requirement to capture 44 million gallons of storm water to a 
requirement to capture and store 54 million gallons of combined sewage 
that would otherwise be discharged without treatment into Cleveland 
area rivers and Lake Erie. The Fifth Amendment also shortens the time 
to complete the tunnels from the original requirement of December 31, 
2035.
    Second, the original consent decree required construction of a 
high-rate treatment facility capable of treating 400 million gallons 
per day of flow, which provides treatment to sewage flowing into the 
Easterly plant beyond the plant's capacity to treat such flow during a 
rain or snowmelt event. The proposed Fifth Amendment allows for 
construction of a smaller, 175-million gallon per day facility but also 
requires NEORSD to construct equipment of sufficient size to divert 
additional flows into one of the deep tunnels for treatment at the 
Easterly plant's main treatment facilities following a rain or snowmelt 
event.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the Fifth Amendment. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and 
should refer to United States and State of Ohio v. Northeast Ohio 
Regional Sewer District, D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-08177/1. 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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    Any comments submitted in writing may be filed by the United States 
in whole or in part on the public court docket without notice to the 
commenter.
    During the public comment period, the Fifth Amendment may be 
examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. If you require assistance 
accessing the Fifth Amendment, you may request assistance by email or 
by mail to the addresses provided above for submitting comments.

Laura Thoms,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-15662 Filed 7-16-24; 8:45 am]
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