[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 22 (Thursday, February 1, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Page 4686]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-01942]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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

    On January 25, 2018, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the Northern 
District of Indiana in the lawsuit entitled United States and State of 
Indiana v. Indiana Harbor Coke Company, et al., Civil Action No. 18-cv-
35.
    The Complaint seeks civil penalties and injunctive relief for 
alleged violations of the Clean Air Act (``CAA'') and Title 326 of the 
Indiana Administrative Code against Indiana Harbor Coke Company, its 
corporate parent SunCoke Energy, Inc., and Cokenergy, LLC 
(collectively, the ``Defendants''), the owners and/or operators of the 
coking facility, located in East Chicago, Indiana. The Complaint 
alleges violations of the CAA and Title 326 of the Indiana 
Administrative Code relating primarily to excess emissions of coke oven 
gases from leaking coke ovens and bypass vent stacks.
    Under the proposed Consent Decree, Defendants would be jointly and 
severally liable for a $5 million civil penalty, to be split evenly 
between the United States and Indiana, and Cokenergy would perform a 
lead abatement supplemental environmental project at a cost of 
$250,000. The proposed Consent Decree also would require comprehensive 
coke oven rebuilds to address oven leaks, including potential permanent 
shut down of an entire battery, representing one fourth of the total 
number of ovens; interim and permanent reductions in the annual bypass 
venting permit limit; enhanced monitoring and testing requirements, 
including solar occultation flux testing; implementation of preventive 
operations and maintenance plans to minimize conditions that might 
cause excess emissions; root cause failure analyses for bypass venting 
incidents and repeated coke oven leaks; and two mitigation measures, 
dual operation of the spray dryer absorbers to achieve a reduction in 
sulfur dioxide emissions from the facility and maintenance of two 
quench towers to achieve a reduction in particulate matter emissions.
    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 Indiana v. Indiana Harbor 
Coke Company, et al., D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-2-1-08555/1. 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, 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 website: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. 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 $12.40 (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. 2018-01942 Filed 1-31-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-15-P