[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 199 (Friday, October 14, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Page 63954]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-26540]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act

    Notice is hereby given that on September 21, 2011, a proposed 
Consent Decree (``CD'') in US and WVDEP v. City of Welch, Civil Action 
No. 1:11-cv-00647, was lodged with the United States District Court for 
the Southern District of West Virginia, Charleston Division.
    The United States filed a complaint concurrently with the CD. In 
the new action, the United States sought injunctive relief and civil 
penalties against the City (the ``City'') of Welch in West Virginia and 
the Welch Sanitary Board (the ``Board'') for violations of Sections 309 
and 402 of the Clean Water Act (``CWA''), 33 U.S.C. 1319 and 1342. The 
United States alleged that by failing to comply with effluent limits, 
failing to develop and implement a Long Term Control Plan (``LTCP''), 
and failing to comply with Nine Minimum Control requirements of the 
National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (``NPDES'') permit, the 
City was in violation of the CWA and its NPDES permit.
    The CD resolves the alleged violations by mandating a series of 
injunctive relief. The CD instructs the City to establish an 
enforceable schedule for controlling the combined sewer overflows and 
correcting the effluent limitation violations. The City will comply 
with a mutually agreed upon schedule as part of the LTCP. It will 
certify that all existing and future contracts are designed, 
constructed, and will operate in accordance with the CD and the NPDES 
permit. The City will also submit a report on the status of any 
overflows from the Combined Sewer System (``CSS'') and their duration 
and frequency, by June 30, 2016. Additionally, the City will submit 
semiannual progress reports to the EPA and the State. The City will 
submit a plan to identify and eliminate sources of excess inflow and 
infiltration within 60 days of the CD being lodged. Six months after 
the CD is lodged, the City will submit a Nine Minimum Controls Plan to 
EPA and a Treatment Plant Plan to the Plaintiffs. In addition to 
injunctive relief, the City will pay a civil penalty of $5,000, divided 
evenly between the United States and the State of West Virginia. There 
will also be stipulated penalties for periods of noncompliance, ranging 
from $1,000 to $8,000 per day per violation.
    The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication comments relating to the CD. 
Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, 
Environment and Natural Resources Division, and either e-mailed to 
[email protected] or mailed to P.O. Box 7611, U.S. 
Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611, and should refer to 
United States and West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection 
v. City of Welch, D.J. Ref. 90-5-1-1-813/1.
    During the public comment period, the CD may also be examined on 
the following Department of Justice Web site, to http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. A copy of the CD may also be obtained by 
mail from the Consent Decree Library, P.O. Box 7611, U.S. Department of 
Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611 or by faxing or emailing a request 
to Tonia Fleetwood ([email protected]), fax no. (202) 514-0097, 
phone confirmation number (202) 514-1547. If requesting a copy from the 
Consent Decree Library by mail, please enclose a check in the amount of 
$12.00 payable to the U.S. Treasury or, if requesting by email or fax, 
forward a check in that amount to the Consent Decree Library at the 
address given above.

Robert Brook,
Assistant Chief, Environmental, Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2011-26540 Filed 10-13-11; 8:45 am]
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