United States v. Pozsgai, No. 88-6545 (E.D. Pa. Oct. 14, 2022). Under a proposed consent decree concerning settling CWA defendants' discharge of pollutants without a permit into waters of the United States, the owner of an adjacent property that has entered into a purchase agreement for the affected property must restore a significant portion of the impacted areas and protect surrounding woodlands.
United States v. Enbridge Energy, L.P., No. 1:16-cv-914 (W.D. Mich. Oct. 12, 2022). A proposed modification of a consent decree concerning two 2010 oil spills that resulted from oil transmission pipeline failures near Marshall, Michigan, and Romeoville, Illinois, would establish requirements and procedures by which settling CWA and OPA defendants may seek partial termination of specified obligations under the decree; explicitly designate specified pipeline segments on Lines 61 and 62 as “replacement segments” that are subject to additional leak detection system-related requirements; establish deadlines applicable to the resumption of in-line inspections on Line 62 following a long period when that pipeline was not in service; and confirm that defendants will not be required to perform axial crack in-line inspections on the dual pipelines and associated piping prior to expiration of a time period that corresponds to one-half of the estimated remaining fatigue life of the worst potential axial crack feature that could have survived the 2017 hydrostatic pressure tests.
United States v. New Hampshire, No. 1:18-cv-00996-PB (D.N.H. Sept. 7, 2022). Settling CWA defendants, in connection with discharges of pollutants from the Powder Mill State Fish Hatchery, in New Durham, New Hampshire, must implement measures to bring the hatchery into compliance, including constructing and operating new wastewater treatment systems, upgrading other aspects of the hatchery's facilities and operations, and implementing best management practices related to flow, pH, and phosphorus.
EPA Region 10 proposed to reissue the NPDES general permit for federal aquaculture facilities and aquaculture facilities located in Indian country in Washington.
United States v. Acadia Woods Add. #2 Sewer Co., No. 6:98-0687 (W.D. La. Aug. 17, 2022). A proposed second consent decree modification under the CWA provides for the transfer of sewage treatment plants—originally owned and operated by Johnson Properties, Inc., and subsequently sold to Total Environmental Solutions, Inc.—to Magnolia Water Utility Operating Company, and modifies the schedule to provide Magnolia additional time to complete the work required by the modified consent decree, modifies some of the injunctive relief requirements for the sewage treatment plants that remain subject to the consent decree, and reduces stipulated penalties during the initial six months of Magnolia’s operations.
United States v. Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District, No. 4:07-CV-01120 (E.D. Mo. Aug. 5, 2022). A proposed amendment to a 2012 consent decree allows settling CWA defendants to replace two combined sewer overflow (CSO) storage tunnels with one larger CSO storage tunnel to accommodate overflows from all of the outfalls related to the original two CSO storage tunnels.
EPA announced a proposed settlement in a CWA lawsuit alleging that the Agency failed to prepare and publish proposed water quality standards for mercury pollution to protect aquatic life following its disapproval of Idaho's related water quality standard revisions in 2008; the settlement requires the Agency to publish proposed aquatic life mercury criteria for Idaho within 18 months.
United States v. Starkist Co., No. 2:17 CV 01190-DSC (W.D. Pa. July 1, 2022). A proposed modification to a CERCLA consent decree requires settling CWA, EPCRA, and RCRA defendants to achieve and maintain compliance with the effluent limits in their NPDES permit in an alternative manner than that set forth in the original consent decree.
EPA Region 1 announced the availability of a draft modification to the NPDES Aquaculture General Permit for discharges from concentrated aquatic animal production facilities and other related facilities to certain waters in Vermont that updates the formaldehyde monitoring requirement for two facilities.
EPA Region 6 proposed to reissue NPDES General Permit No. GMG290000 for existing and new sources and new dischargers in the offshore subcategory of the oil and gas extraction point source category, located in and discharging to the outer continental shelf offshore of Louisiana and Texas.