83 FR 14891 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under The Clean Water Act

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 67 (April 6, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 67 (Friday, April 6, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14891-14892]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-07077]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree Under The Clean 
Water Act

    On April 2, 2018, the Department of Justice (DOJ) lodged a proposed 
Consent Decree with the United States District Court for the Northern 
District of Indiana in United States and State of Indiana v. United 
States Steel Corporation, Civil Action No. 2:18-cv-00127. The lodging 
of the proposed Decree immediately followed DOJ's filing in the same 
court of a civil complaint (Complaint) against United States Steel 
Corporation (U.S. Steel).
    The proposed Consent Decree resolves Clean Water Act and Emergency 
Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act claims in the Complaint by the 
United States on behalf of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(EPA), the National Park Service (NPS), and the National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and by Co-Plaintiff the State of 
Indiana (State) on behalf of the Indiana Department of Environmental 
Management and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources. Under the 
proposed Decree, U.S. Steel agrees, among other things, to undertake 
measures to improve its wastewater processing monitoring system at its 
steel manufacturing and finishing facility, known as the Midwest Plant, 
in Portage, Indiana. U.S. Steel also agrees to pay a civil penalty to 
EPA and the State and to reimburse EPA and the NPS for response costs 
incurred as a result of an April 2017 spill of wastewater containing 
hexavalent chromium. U.S. Steel will also pay costs to NOAA for 
assessing natural resource damages due to the April 2017 spill, and 
damages to NPS resulting from the closure of several beaches along the 
Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore due to the spill.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the proposed Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
and should refer to United States et al v. United States Steel 
Corporation, D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-2-1-06476/2. 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].

[[Page 14892]]

 
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 proposed Consent Decree may 
be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees.
    We will provide a paper copy of the proposed 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 $14.25 (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. 2018-07077 Filed 4-5-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-15-P