[Federal Register: December 8, 1999 (Volume 64, Number 235)]
[Notices]               
[Page 68702]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr08de99-89]                         

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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 in United States of America v. 
Willowridge Estates, L.L.C., and Rathborne Land Company, Inc., Civil 
Action No. 99-3489 (E.D. La.), was lodged with the United States 
District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana on November 17, 
1999.
    This is a civil action commenced under Sections 309(b) and (d) and 
404(s) of the Clean Water Act (``CWA''), 33 U.S.C. 1319(b) and(d), 
1344(s), to obtain injunctive relief and civil penalties against 
Willowridge Estates, L.L.C., and Rathborne Land Co., Inc., 
(``Defendants''), for the discharge of pollutants into waters of the 
United States in Saint Charles Parish, Louisiana, without authorization 
by the United States Department of the Army, and for noncompliance with 
conditions and limitations of a permit issued under CWA section 404(a), 
33 U.S.C. 1344(a), all in violation of CWA section 301(a), 33 U.S.C. 
1311(a).
    The proposed Consent Decree would resolve these violations and, 
among other provisions, would require Defendants (1) to pay civil 
penalties totaling $620,000, (2) to preserve about 370 acres of 
neighboring wetlands owned by Defendants, (3) apply to the U.S. Army 
Corps of Engineers for an after-the-fact permit for the unauthorized 
discharges and (4) to comply with all terms and conditions of any 
permit that is issued. The proposed Consent Decree further provides 
that if the Corps denies the after-the-fact permit, the United States 
reserves, and the Consent Decree does not affect, the right to issue an 
administrative order or orders to remove all or part of the fill placed 
at the Sites, and/or to require mitigation with respect to the 
unauthorized fill at the Sites.
    The Department of Justice will accept written comments relating to 
the proposed Consent Decree for thirty (30) days from the date of 
publication of this notice. Comments should be addressed to the 
Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, 
U.S. Department of Justice, Attention: Scott J. Jordan, Environmental 
Defense Section, P.O. Box 23986, Washington, D.C. 20026-3986, and must 
refer to United States of America v. Willowridge Estates, L.L.C., and 
Rathborne Land Company, Inc., DJ Reference No. 90-5-1-4-05482.
    The proposed consent decree is on file at the Clerk's Office, 
United States District Court, Eastern District of Louisiana, 500 Camp 
Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130, and may be examined there to the 
extent allowed by the rules of the Clerk's Office. In addition, written 
requests for a copy of the consent decree may be mailed to Scott J. 
Jordan, Environmental Defense Section, U.S. Department of Justice, P.O. 
Box 23986, Washington, D.C. 20026-3986, and should refer to United 
States v. Willowridge Estates, L.L.C., and Rathborne Land Company, 
Inc., DJ Reference No. 90-5-1-4-05482. All written requests for a copy 
of the Consent Decree must include the full mailing address to which 
the Consent Decree should be sent.
Letitia J. Grishaw,
Chief, Environmental Defense Section, Environmental and Natural 
Resources Division, Department of Justice.
[FR Doc. 99-31789 Filed 12-7-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-M