[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 90 (Tuesday, May 10, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Page 28887]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-10954]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Lodging of Proposed First Amended Consent Decree Under
the Clean Water Act
On May 2, 2016, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed First
Amended Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Ohio in the lawsuit entitled United States v. City
of Akron, Ohio, et al., Civil Action No. 09-cv-00272.
In this action the United States, and the State of Ohio in a cross-
claim, sought civil penalties and injunctive relief for violations of
the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq., in connection with the
City of Akron's (``Akron's'' or ``City's'') operation of its municipal
wastewater treatment facility and sewer system. Under the Consent
Decree, which was approved by the Court in January 2014, Akron was
required to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to address
overflows from its combined sewer system and bypasses around secondary
treatment at the wastewater treatment facility. That plan, known as the
``Long Term Control Plan Update'' (``LTCP Update''), which was approved
by the United States in November 2011 and the State of Ohio in April
2012, sets forth specific projects that the City is required to
implement, and identifies dates for completion of these projects.
The proposed amendment modifies two provisions of the 2014 Consent
Decree to take into account new engineering solutions. Both of the
affected projects are included in the approved LTCP Update. The first
modification requires that the City expand secondary treatment at its
wastewater treatment plant sooner than is required under the current
agreement: Under the amended Decree, the City will achieve 220 million
gallons/day of secondary treatment capacity by 2019 instead of 2021. In
exchange, the City may delay by approximately two years the
installation of a biologically enhanced high rate treatment
(``BioActiflo'') unit at the treatment plant. The City has committed
to, and the United States previously approved (under the terms of the
Consent Decree itself), an increase in the size of secondary treatment
capacity, and an equivalent reduction in the size of the BioActiflo
unit.
The second modification eliminates the requirement for the City to
construct a mile-and-a-half-long sewer line parallel to an existing
interceptor that connects the combined sewer system to the wastewater
treatment plant. In place of the parallel sewer, the amendment requires
the City to construct a steel reinforced concrete cap along all but a
fraction of the existing interceptor sewer line. The cap will be in
place by November 2017, the same Achievement of Full Operation date as
for the original project.
The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on
the First Amended 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 Akron, Ohio, et al., D.J.
Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-3144/2. 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 First Amendment to the
Consent Decree may be examined and downloaded at this Justice
Department Web site: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. We
will provide a paper copy of the proposed amendment to 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 $7.25 (25 cents per page
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.
Randall M. Stone,
Acting Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section,
Environment and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2016-10954 Filed 5-9-16; 8:45 am]
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