[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 22, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Page 28199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-12854]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act

    Consistent with 28 CFR Sec. 50.7, notice is hereby given that on 
April 17, 2001, a proposed consent decree (``Consent Decree'') in 
United States v. Black Mesa Pipeline, Inc.,, Civil Action No. CIV-01-
0681-PCT-EHC, was lodged with the United States District Court for the 
District of Arizona.
    The Consent Decree resolves claims that the United States asserted 
against Black Mesa in a civil complaint filed concurrently with the 
lodging of the Consent Decree. The complaint alleges violations of the 
Clean Water Act at the company's coal slurry pipeline that runs from 
Peabody Western Coal Co.'s Black Mesa Mine near Kayenta, Arizona to the 
Southern California Edison Co.'s Mohave Generating Station in Laughlin, 
Nevada. Specifically, the complaint alleges that there were seven 
discharges of coal slurry from the pipeline between 1997 and 1999, 
which discharges reached waters of the United States. The State of 
Arizona is a co-plaintiff.
    The Consent Decree requires defendant to pay a civil penalty of 
$128,000, plus interest. The payment will be split, with $79,000 being 
paid to the United States and $49,000 being paid to the State. The 
Consent Decree also requires defendant to implement a Preventative 
Measures Plan to prevent further spills and to continue to implement a 
Protocol for addressing spills should any occur.
    The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication comments relating to the Consent 
Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, 
Environment and Natural Resources Division, P.O. Box 7611, U.S. 
Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611, and should refer to 
United States v. Black Mesa Pipeline, Inc., Civil Action No. CIV-01-
0681-PCT-EHC, and D.J. Ref. 90-5-1-1-06803.
    The Consent Decree may be examined at the Office of the United 
States Attorney, 4000 U.S. Courthouse, 230 North First Street, Phoenix, 
Arizona or at EPA Region 9, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 
94105. A copy of the Consent Decree may be obtained by mail from the 
Consent Decree Library, P.O. Box 7611, U.S. Department of Justice, 
Washington, DC 20044-7611. In requesting a copy, please enclose a check 
in the amount of $8.00 (25 cents per page reproduction cost) payable to 
the Consent Decree Library.

Ellen M. Mahan,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmenal Enforcement Section.
[FR Doc. 01-12854 Filed 5-21-01; 8:45 am]
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