[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 21 (Wednesday, January 31, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6132-6133]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-01883]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act

    On January 24, 2024, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed 
Fourth Amendment of the Consent Decree with the United States District 
Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania in the lawsuit entitled 
United States and Commonwealth of Pennsylvania v. City of Reading, 
Civil Action No. 04-05696.
    The United States' Complaint and the Commonwealth's Complaint in 
intervention alleged, inter alia, that the City of Reading Wastewater 
Treatment Plant (``Reading'') violated its National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System permits, the Clean Water Act, and the Pennsylvania 
Clean Streams law by discharging pollutants into the Schuylkill River 
in violation of various effluent limits, and that Reading failed to 
enforce the requirements of its pretreatment program for industrial 
users and failed to properly operate and maintain its wastewater 
treatment plant and systems.
    In 2005, the parties entered into a Consent Decree to resolve the 
United States' and the Commonwealth's claims. Among other things, the 
Consent Decree established a process to return the City of Reading to 
NPDES compliance, including required capital improvements to its 
wastewater treatment plant. The process of new construction and 
significantly updating and overhauling existing infrastructure has been 
underway since the Consent Decree was originally entered. Many of the 
required tasks have been completed or are substantially complete, but 
some remain outstanding.
    The parties to the Consent Decree have agreed to certain 
modifications set forth in the Fourth Amendment to the Decree. The 
Fourth Amendment extends the deadlines for completing remaining capital 
improvement projects because of delays that have occurred in the 
process of designing, seeking bids for, entering into contracts for, 
securing materials for, and completing construction on the remaining 
projects. In particular, Reading experienced delays due to social-
distancing-related limitations on staffing and delays in manufacturing 
due to shutdowns and supply chain delays, and expects that the 
remaining

[[Page 6133]]

projects will have some level of delays due to these ongoing issues.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the proposed Fourth Amendment of the Consent Decree. Comments should be 
addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural 
Resources Division, and should refer to United States and Commonwealth 
of Pennsylvania v. City of Reading, D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-07869/1. 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 email............................  <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#1b6b6e79787476767e756f367e7e68357e75697f5b6e687f7471357c746d"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5a2a2f38393537373f342e773f3f29743f34283e1a2f293e3530743d352c">[email protected]</span></a>.
By mail.............................  Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
                                       DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
                                       Washington, DC 20044-7611.
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    During the public comment period, the Fourth Amendment of the 
Consent Decree 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 Fourth Amendment 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 $4.00 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.

Jeffrey Sands,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-01883 Filed 1-30-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P


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