[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 140 (Tuesday, July 22, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42534-42535]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-17127]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under the Clean Air 
Act

    On July 16, 2014, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
consent decree with the United States District Court for the District 
of Minnesota in the lawsuit entitled United States and State of 
Minnesota by its Minnesota Pollution Control Agency v. Allete, Inc. d/
b/a Minnesota Power, Civil Action No. 0:14-cv-2911-ADM-LIB.
    The United States and the State of Minnesota by its Minnesota 
Pollution Control Agency, filed this lawsuit under the Clean Air Act. 
The United States' and the State's complaint seeks injunctive relief 
and civil penalties for violations of the New Source Review (NSR) and 
Title V provisions of the Clean Air Act, at the defendant's Boswell and 
Laskin coal-fired power

[[Page 42535]]

plants located, respectively, in Cohasset and Hoyt Lakes, Minnesota. 
The consent decree requires Minnesota Power to perform injunctive 
relief to reduce sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and particulate 
matter emissions at these plants, as well as at Minnesota Power's 
Taconite Harbor Energy coal-fired power plant in Schroeder, Minnesota, 
and at Minnesota Power's Rapids Energy coal and biomass-fired plant in 
Grand Rapids, Minnesota. The emission reductions will be achieved 
through a combination of pollution controls, unit retirements, 
refueling or repowering, and emission caps. The consent decree also 
requires Minnesota Power to spend at least $4.2 million on 
environmentally beneficial projects to mitigate the adverse effects of 
the past emissions alleged to have been illegal, and to pay a $1.4 
million civil penalty. The consent decree would resolve NSR and related 
Title V and New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) claims for past 
violations at the plants.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the consent decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and 
should refer to United States and State of Minnesota. v. Allete, Inc. 
d/b/a Minnesota Power, D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-2-1-09683. 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 e-mail...........................  [email protected].
By mail.............................  Assistant Attorney General
                                      U.S. DOJ--ENRD
                                      P.O. Box 7611
                                      Washington, D.C. 20044-7611.
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    During the public comment period, the consent decree may be 
examined and downloaded at this Justice Department Web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. We will provide a paper copy 
of the consent decree 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 $26.75 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.

Karen S. Dworkin,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2014-17127 Filed 7-21-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P