Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act

Under 28 CFR 50.7, notice is hereby give that on October 21, 1997 a

proposed consent decree (``the decree'') in United States, Commonwealth

of Virginia, and District of Columbia v. Colonial Pipeline Company,

Civil Action No. 97-1680-A, was lodged with the United States District

Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

In this action brought pursuant to the Clean Water Act, as amended

by the Oil

[[Page 59372]]

Pollution Act of 1990, 33 U.S.C. 1251 et. seq., the United States,

Commonwealth of Virginia and District of Columbia sought civil

penalties and natural resource damages regarding a March 1993 oil

discharge to Sugarland Run, a tributary of the Potomac River. The

proposed decree requires Colonial Pipeline Company to perform

comprehensive projects to restore natural resources that were damaged

as a result of the oil discharge, reimbursing all assessment costs of

the natural resource trustees, and monitoring and oversight costs

associated with the projects. In addition, the decree requires Colonial

Pipeline Company to pay $253,314 toward the notching of Little Falls

Dam on the Potomac River, a joint project of the District of Columbia,

State of Maryland and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and to pay a $1.5

million civil penalty, $750,000 to the United States, and $750,000 to

the Commonwealth of Virginia.

The Department of Justice will receive written comments relating to

the decree for thirty (30) days from the date of publication of this

notice. Please address comments to the Assistant Attorney General,

Environment and Natural Resources Division, Department of Justice, P.O.

Box 7611, Ben Franklin Station, Washington, D.C. 20044 and refer to

United States, Commonwealth of Virginia, and District of Columbia v.

Colonial Pipeline Company, D.J. Ref. #90-5-1-1-4055.

The decree may be examined at the Office of the United States

Attorney, Eastern District of Virginia, 2100 Jamieson Avenue,

Alexandria, VA 22314; the Region III Office of the United States

Environmental Protection Agency, 841 Chestnut Building, Philadelphia,

PA 19107; and at the Consent Decree Library 1120 G Street, N.W., 4th

Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005 (202) 624-0892. A copy of the decree may

be obtained in person or by mail at the Consent Decree Library, 1120 G

Street, N.W., 4th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005 (202-624-0892). When

requesting a copy, please enclose a check in the amount of $16.75

(twenty-five cents per page reproduction costs) payable to the

``Consent Decree Library.''

Joel M. Gross,

Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural

Resources Division, U.S. Department of Justice.

[FR Doc. 97-29010 Filed 10-31-97; 8:45 am]

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