Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Pursuant to the Clean Water Act

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE

Notice of 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 was lodged in United States v.

Acadiana Treatment Systems, Inc., Civil Action No. 6:98CV0687 (W.D.

La.), on July 24, 1998, with the United States District Court for the

Western District of Louisiana.

Johnson Properties, Inc. and its subsidiaries own and operate more

than 170 sewage treatment plants located throughout the state of

Louisiana. The United States' Complaint was brought pursuant to Section

309(b), of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1319(b), for injunctive

relief and civil penalties for discharge of pollutants into the

navigable waters of the United States in violation of Section 301 of

the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1311, and for violations of certain

terms, conditions and limitations of National Pollutant Discharge

Elimination System (NPDES) permits issued to Defendants pursuant to

Section 402 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1342. The United States

filed an Amended Complaint and a Second Amended Complaint to include

all of the subsidiaries of Johnson Properties, Inc., Glenn K. Johnson,

and Darren K. Johnson as defendants in this action. The Louisiana

Department of Environmental Quality (LDEQ) filed a Complaint in

Intervention as a plaintiff in these proceedings.

The United States and LDEQ have entered into a consent decree with

the defendants in this action that resolves the claims for injunctive

relief asserted by the United States and LDEQ against the defendants.

Under the Consent Decree the defendants must implement specific

compliance measures at all the sewage treatment plants that they own

and operate in Louisiana. The consent decree also provides that the

defendants must hire an environmental auditor to assess and monitor

compliance at the sewage treatment plants for a period of five years.

The consent decree does not settle the penalties portion of the case,

and it expressly reserves to the United States and to LDEQ the right to

seek civil penalties for the violations alleged in the second amended

compliant at any time in the future.

The Department of Justice will receive, for a period of 30 days

from the date of this publication, comments relating to the proposed

consent decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney

General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division, Department

of Justice, Washington, D.C. 20530, and should refer to United States

v. Acadiana Treatment Systems, Inc., DOJ Ref. #90-5-1-1-4375.

The proposed consent decree may be examined at the office of the

United States Attorney, Western District of Louisiana, First National

Bank Tower, 600 Jefferson Street, Suite 1000, Lafayette, Louisiana

70501-7206, and at the Consent Decree Library, 1120 G Street, N.W., 4th

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

consent decree may be obtained in person or by mail from the Consent

Decree Library, 1120 G Street, N.W., 4th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005.

To request a copy of the consent decree in United States v. Acadiana

Treatment Systems, Inc., Civil Action No. 6:98CV0687 (W.D. La.), please

refer to that case title, and DOJ No. 90-5-1-1-4375, and enclose a

check for the amount of $11.00 (25 cents per page reproduction cost)

payable to the Consent Decree Library.

Joel Gross,

Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural

Resources Division.

[FR Doc. 98-21499 Filed 8-10-98; 8:45 am]

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