Lodging of Consent Decree Pursuant to the Clean Water Act

[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 13 (Friday, January 19, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1404-1405]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-599]



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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Lodging of Consent Decree Pursuant to the Clean Water Act

    In accordance with Departmental Policy, 28 CFR 50.7, notice is 
hereby given that a consent decree in Trustees for Alaska versus 
Hickel, Civ. No. A92-245 CIV (JKS) (D. Alaska), was lodged with the 
United States District Court for the District of Alaska on December 19, 
1995. The proposed decree concerns violations of sections 301 and 404 
of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1311 and 1344, involving the 
discharge of dredged or fill materials into the Copper River, its 
tributaries and adjacent ponds and wetlands by the Alaska Department of 
Transportation and Public Facilities (``DOT/PF'') during 1991 road 
construction along the Copper River between Chitina and Cordova, 
Alaska.
    The Consent Decree includes the following terms: (1) Restoration of 
areas that suffered environmental harm; (2) development of a program to 
educate DOT/PF personnel about the requirements of the Clean Water Act; 
(3) establishment of an Environmental Compliance Coordinator or 
Consultant to coordinate Clean Water Act permitting issues; (4) a 
commitment to broadcast televised public service announcements about 
the importance of complying with the Clean Water Act; (5) an admission 
that DOT/PF violated the Clean Water Act; (6) an injunction from 
further violations of the Clean Water Act; and (7) a civil penalty 
totalling $600,000, the majority of which will be assessed through 
mutually agreed upon environmental projects designed to benefit the 
Copper River watershed. The remainder of the civil penalty will be set 
off against liability of the federal government in a separate case. The 
settlement makes it clear that further road work along the Copper River 
corridor may now proceed, but only in compliance with federal laws and 
regulations, including the Clean Water Act.
    The Department of Justice will receive written comments relating to 
the consent decree for a period of thirty (30) days from the date of 
this notice. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney 
General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, U.S. Department of 
Justice, Attention: Mark A. Nitczynski, Environmental Defense Section, 
P.O. Box 23986, Washington, D.C. 20026-3986, and should refer to 
Trustees for Alaska versus Hickel, DJ Reference No. 90-5-1-4-336.
    The Consent Decree may be examined at the Office of the United 
States Attorney for the District of Alaska, 222 W. 7th Ave. No. 9, 
Anchorage, Alaska 

[[Page 1405]]
99513; or, upon request to Mark A. Nitczynski, (202) 514-3785. In 
requesting a copy, please enclose a check in the amount of 
$____________ for a copy of the Consent Decree with attachments.
Anna Wolgast,
Acting Chief, Environmental Defense Section, Environment and Natural 
Resources Division, United States Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 96-599 Filed 1-18-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-01-M