[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 48 (Friday, March 12, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11911-11912]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-5276]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act and 
the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability 
Act (``CERCLA'')

    Notice is hereby given that on March 8, 2010, a proposed consent 
decree (``proposed Decree'') in United States v. Norfolk Southern 
Railway Co., Civil Action No. 1:08-cv-01707, was lodged with the United 
States District Court for the District of South Carolina, Aiken 
Division.
    In this action under Sections 301 and 311 of the Clean Water Act, 
33 U.S.C. 1311 and 1321, and Section 301(a) of the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, 42 U.S.C. 
9603(a) (``CERCLA''), the United States sought penalties and injunctive 
relief for releases of chlorine and diesel fuel following the January 
6, 2005 derailment of the defendant's train in Graniteville, South 
Carolina, which resulted in the death of nine people, evacuation of the 
surrounding community, and environmental injury including the death of 
hundreds of fish in nearby waters. The proposed Decree requires the 
defendant to pay $4 million to the United States as a civil penalty, 
provide enhanced emergency response training to certain employees, 
restock impacted waters with fish, and post the number for the National 
Response Center's incident report hotline in the office of its General 
Superintendent of Transportation. In addition, the proposed Decree 
requires the defendant to conduct a Supplemental Environmental Project 
(``SEP'') designed to control erosion and improve water quality in 
impacted waters. The proposed Decree provides the defendant with a 
covenant not to sue for the allegations contained in the United States' 
amended complaint.
    The Department of Justice will receive for a period of thirty (30) 
days from the date of this publication comments relating to the 
proposed Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney 
General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and either e-
mailed to [email protected] or mailed to P.O. Box 7611, 
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611, and should refer 
to United States v. Norfolk Southern Railway Co., D.J. Ref. 90-5-1-1-
09024.
    The proposed Decree may be examined at the Office of the United 
States Attorney for the District of South Carolina, 1441 Main Street, 
Suite 500, Columbia, S.C. 29201 and at U.S. EPA

[[Page 11912]]

Region 4, 61 Forsythe Street, SW., Atlanta, GA 30303. During the public 
comment period, the proposed Decree may also be examined on the 
following Department of Justice Web site: http://www.usdoj.gov/enrd/Consent_Decrees.html. A copy of the proposed Decree may also be 
obtained by mail from the Consent Decree Library, P.O. Box 7611, U.S. 
Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20044-7611 or by faxing or e-
mailing a request to Tonia Fleetwood ([email protected]), fax 
no. (202) 514-0097, phone confirmation number (202) 514-1547. In 
requesting a copy from the Consent Decree Library, please enclose a 
check in the amount of $10.25 (25 cents per page reproduction cost) 
payable to the U.S. Treasury or, if by email or fax, forward a check in 
that amount to the Consent Decree Library at the stated address.

Maureen Katz,
Assistant Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and 
Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2010-5276 Filed 3-11-10; 8:45 am]
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