83 FR 17852 - Notice of Lodging of Proposed Amendment To Consent Judgment Under the Safe Drinking Water Act

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Federal Register Volume 83, Issue 79 (April 24, 2018)

[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 79 (Tuesday, April 24, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 17852-17853]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2018-08452]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Amendment To Consent Judgment Under 
the Safe Drinking Water Act

    On April 17, 2018, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
amendment to the 2016 Consent Judgment (``the Consent Judgment'') with 
the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York 
in the lawsuit entitled United States v. State of New York et al., 
Civil Action No. 2:16-6989.
    In that action, a Consent Judgment settled the United States' 
claims for civil penalties and injunctive relief that arose out of 
Defendants' operation of Large Capacity Cesspools (``LCCs'') in 
violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act (``SDWA''), 42 U.S.C. 300h, 
underground injection control (``UIC'') program, specifically the 
program's Class V UIC regulations found at 40 CFR 144.80 to 144.89. The 
Consent Judgment required Defendants to (1) close the prohibited LCCs, 
(2) pay of a civil penalty of $150,000, and (3) perform eight 
Supplement Environmental Projects (``SEPs'') in seven state parks. The 
SEPs include various nitrogen reducing projects and have an estimated 
value of $1,020,000.
    The Amendment to Consent Judgment (``the Amendment'') proposes to 
modify a constructed wetland SEP that Defendants agreed to perform at 
Captree State Park, in Suffolk County, New York. The wetland would have 
primarily provided for treatment of wastewater discharges from the main 
comfort station and restaurant. Defendants reported that installing the 
constructed wetland SEP at Captree State Park (``Captree'') would be 
unworkable. Defendants report that their data collection at Captree, 
including delineation of the existing sanitary system, flood hazard 
areas, environmentally sensitive areas, and available space, indicates 
that the site cannot accommodate a wetland large enough to treat the 
waste flow.
    Under the Amendment, Defendants would install and operate an 
alternative waste treatment technology--a NitrexTM System 
with requirement for a smaller area in which to operate. Further, the 
Nitrex\TM\ system SEP at Captree would operate at the same location, 
and would

[[Page 17853]]

treat the same sanitary waste streams--those emanating from the main 
comfort station and a restaurant. It is estimated that the Nitrex\TM\ 
system SEP will reduce discharges at Captree by approximately 378 
pounds per year, which is 40 additional pounds of nitrogen reduction 
compared with the estimated reduction from the constructed wetland SEP. 
The Nitrex\TM\ system SEP also will disturb less of an adjacent 
shoreline. Additionally, under the Amendment, the SEP offers a public 
educational component to demonstrate the nitrogen cycle and 
environmental benefits of nitrogen removal.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the Consent Judgment. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant 
Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and 
should refer to United States v. State of New York, D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-
1-1-11400. 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 Judgment 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 Judgment 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 $18.00 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury. For a paper 
copy without the exhibits and signature pages, the cost is $10.25.

Robert Maher,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2018-08452 Filed 4-23-18; 8:45 am]
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