Notice of Lodging of Proposed Fourth Amended Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act

On October 7, 2026, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed Fourth Amendment to the 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”) 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 implement a comprehensive plan (the “Long Term Control Plan Update” or “LTCP Update”) to address overflows from its combined sewer system and bypasses around secondary treatment at the wastewater treatment facility.

The proposed amendment modifies certain provisions of the 2014 Consent Decree set forth in the LTCP Update. The proposed amendment (1) replaces a construction requirement for a new treatment facility with Performance Criteria limiting Akron to three untreated CSO discharges per Typical Year and volumetric discharge limits; (2) adds monitoring, modeling, and reporting requirements for evaluating achievement of the Performance Criteria; and (3) extends the requirement that Akron disinfect and dechlorinate certain discharges from six to eight months during a calendar year.

The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on the proposed Fourth Amendment to the Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Energy and Natural Resources Division, and should refer to United States v. City of Akron 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:

Any comments submitted in writing may be filed by the United States in whole or in part on the public court docket without notice to the commenter.

During the public comment period, the proposed Fourth Amendment to the Consent Decree may be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: www.justice.gov/​enrd/​consent-decrees. If you require assistance accessing the proposed Fourth Amended Consent Decree, you may request assistance by email or by mail to the addresses provided above for submitting comments.