Notice of Lodging of Proposed Modification of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act, 56408-56409 [2024-14965]

Download as PDF lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 56408 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 9, 2024 / Notices Authorized applicants must represent interested parties, as defined by 19 U.S.C. 1677(9), who are parties to the investigations. A party granted access to BPI in the preliminary phase of the investigations need not reapply for such access. A separate service list will be maintained by the Secretary for those parties authorized to receive BPI under the APO. Staff report.—The prehearing staff report in the final phase of these investigations will be placed in the nonpublic record on August 19, 2024, and a public version will be issued thereafter, pursuant to § 207.22 of the Commission’s rules. Hearing.—The Commission will hold a hearing in connection with the final phase of these investigations beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Wednesday, September 4, 2024. Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed in writing with the Secretary to the Commission on or before Tuesday, August 27, 2024. Any requests to appear as a witness via videoconference must be included with your request to appear. Requests to appear via videoconference must include a statement explaining why the witness cannot appear in person; the Chairman, or other person designated to conduct the investigations, may in their discretion for good cause shown, grant such a request. Requests to appear as remote witness due to illness or a positive COVID–19 test result may be submitted by 3:00 p.m. the business day prior to the hearing. Further information about participation in the hearing will be posted on the Commission’s website at https://www.usitc.gov/calendarpad/ calendar.html. A nonparty who has testimony that may aid the Commission’s deliberations may request permission to present a short statement at the hearing. All parties and nonparties desiring to appear at the hearing and make oral presentations should attend a prehearing conference, if deemed necessary, to be held at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, September 3, 2024. Parties shall file and serve written testimony and presentation slides in connection with their presentation at the hearing by no later than 4:00 p.m. on Tuesday, September 3, 2024 (one business day prior to hearing). Oral testimony and written materials to be submitted at the public hearing are governed by sections 201.6(b)(2), 201.13(f), and 207.24 of the Commission’s rules. Parties must submit any request to present a portion of their hearing testimony in camera no later than 7 business days prior to the date of the hearing. Written submissions.—Each party who is an interested party shall submit VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:00 Jul 08, 2024 Jkt 262001 a prehearing brief to the Commission. Prehearing briefs must conform with the provisions of § 207.23 of the Commission’s rules; the deadline for filing is August 26, 2024. Parties shall also file written testimony in connection with their presentation at the hearing, and posthearing briefs, which must conform with the provisions of § 207.25 of the Commission’s rules. The deadline for filing posthearing briefs is September 11, 2024. In addition, any person who has not entered an appearance as a party to the investigations may submit a written statement of information pertinent to the subject of the investigations, including statements of support or opposition to the petition, on or before September 11, 2024. On October 1, 2024, the Commission will make available to parties all information on which they have not had an opportunity to comment. Parties may submit final comments on this information on or before October 3, 2024, but such final comments must not contain new factual information and must otherwise comply with § 207.30 of the Commission’s rules. All written submissions must conform with the provisions of § 201.8 of the Commission’s rules; any submissions that contain BPI must also conform with the requirements of §§ 201.6, 207.3, and 207.7 of the Commission’s rules. The Commission’s Handbook on Filing Procedures, available on the Commission’s website at https:// www.usitc.gov/documents/handbook_ on_filing_procedures.pdf, elaborates upon the Commission’s procedures with respect to filings. Additional written submissions to the Commission, including requests pursuant to § 201.12 of the Commission’s rules, shall not be accepted unless good cause is shown for accepting such submissions, or unless the submission is pursuant to a specific request by a Commissioner or Commission staff. In accordance with §§ 201.16(c) and 207.3 of the Commission’s rules, each document filed by a party to the investigations must be served on all other parties to the investigations (as identified by either the public or BPI service list), and a certificate of service must be timely filed. The Secretary will not accept a document for filing without a certificate of service. Authority: These investigations are being conducted under authority of title VII of the Tariff Act of 1930; this notice is published pursuant to § 207.21 of the Commission’s rules. PO 00000 Frm 00133 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 Issued: July 3, 2024. Lisa Barton, Secretary to the Commission. [FR Doc. 2024–15058 Filed 7–8–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 7020–02–P DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE Notice of Lodging of Proposed Modification of Consent Decree Under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act On June 29, 2024, the Department of Justice lodged with the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan a proposed Eighth Modification of Consent Decree (‘‘Eighth Modification’’) in the lawsuit entitled United States v. Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership, et al., Civil Action No. 1:16–cv–914. On May 23, 2017, the United States District Court for the Western District of Michigan approved and entered a Consent Decree that resolved specified claims asserted by the United States against Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership and eight affiliated entities (‘‘Enbridge’’) under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act arising from two separate 2010 oil spills resulting from failures of Enbridge oil transmission pipelines near Marshall, Michigan and Romeoville, Illinois. The complaint filed by the United States alleged that Enbridge’s pipelines had unlawfully discharged oil into waters of the United States and sought civil penalties, recovery of removal costs, and injunctive relief. The Consent Decree established various requirements applicable to a network of 14 pipelines that comprise Enbridge’s Lakehead System—including dig selection criteria governing excavation, repair or mitigation, and imposition of interim pressure restrictions for various features, such a cracks, that are detected through In-Line Inspections (‘‘ILI’’) of such pipelines. The proposed Modification would revise provisions of the Consent Decree relating to the investigation and repair of ‘‘circumferential cracks’’—i.e., cracks that are predominantly oriented around the circumference of the pipeline as opposed to cracks oriented along the length (or central axis) of the pipeline. First, the proposed Eighth Modification would require Enbridge to investigate circumferential crack features in four pipelines. In three pipelines (Lines 2, 62 and a portion of Line 1), Enbridge will deploy ILI tools that are specifically designed to identify and measure circumferential crack features. In a fourth pipeline (Line 4), E:\FR\FM\09JYN1.SGM 09JYN1 lotter on DSK11XQN23PROD with NOTICES1 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 131 / Tuesday, July 9, 2024 / Notices Enbridge will undertake a newly-created program to excavate and examine a minimum of ten pipe joints that are likely to contain the most severe circumferential crack features. Based upon the results of this investigation, Enbridge will attempt to pass an agreedupon statistical test for determining whether unexcavated portions of the pipeline are likely to contain any Circumferential Cracks that require repair. Second, the proposed Eighth Modification would revise the methods used by Enbridge for assessing whether a circumferential crack must be excavated and repaired. The new methods are tailored to address the unique threats posed by circumferential crack features, taking into account all stresses and loading conditions that may cause a circumferential crack to grow and ultimately fail. The proposed Eighth Modification would require Enbridge to apply these new assessment methods not only to circumferential crack features in Lines 1, 2, 4, and 62 that Enbridge would be required to investigate under the proposed Eighth Modification, but also those circumferential crack features in Lines 5, 6A, and 10 that Enbridge previously discovered through past ILIs but that Enbridge has not yet excavated and repaired. Third, the proposed Eighth Modification adjusts certain requirements relating to the repair and mitigation of Circumferential Crack features. The proposed Eighth Modification allows more time for the excavation and repair of Circumferential Cracks than is generally afforded for the excavation and repair of axially-aligned cracks (i.e., a crack oriented in parallel to the flow of oil through the pipeline). Further, Enbridge will not be required, in all instances, to limit operating pressure in a pipeline until such repairs are completed. Rather, Enbridge will be required to establish an interim pressure restriction only if a Circumferential Crack is growing at a rate that poses a threat to the integrity of the pipeline. Fouth, the proposed Eighth Modification would eliminate two requirements in the Consent Decree relating to Circumferential Cracks. In contrast to axially-aligned cracks, circumferential crack features that do not require excavation and repair would not be evaluated to determine their remaining life (i.e., the estimated time remaining before a feature may fail either by leaking or rupturing). In addition, the proposed Eighth Modification would not impose any requirements on Enbridge with respect to the future deployment of ILI tools to VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:00 Jul 08, 2024 Jkt 262001 re-inspect circumferential crack features in Lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 6A, 10, and 62. Finally, the proposed Eighth Modification would revise the Termination Section of the Consent Decree, enabling Enbridge to seek early termination of certain requirements relating to circumferential crack features. The proposed Eighth Modification would require Enbridge to incorporate the circumferential crack remedial program into its operating manual, which is enforceable by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (‘‘PHMSA’’). Once the manual is revised, Enbridge may request ‘‘Phase 1’’ Final Termination, which, upon approval by EPA, will terminate all aspects of the Consent Decree other than two discrete programs relating to circumferential cracks. Phase 2 Final Termination will occur once the United States files notice with the Court confirming that Enbridge has fully implemented these two remaining programs. The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on the proposed Eighth Modification of Consent Decree. Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and should refer to United States v. Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership, et al., D.J. Ref. No. 90–5–1–1–10099. 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: To submit comments: Send them to: By email ....... pubcomment-ees.enrd@ usdoj.gov. Assistant Attorney General, U.S. DOJ—ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044–7611. By mail ......... During the public comment period, the proposed Eighth Modification may be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: https:// www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. If you require assistance accessing the proposed Eighth Modification, you may request assistance by email or by mail to the address provided above for submitting comments. Laura A. Thoms, Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division. [FR Doc. 2024–14965 Filed 7–8–24; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4410–15–P PO 00000 Frm 00134 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 56409 DEPARTMENT OF LABOR Employee Benefits Security Administration [Prohibited Transaction Exemption 2024– 03; Application Number L–11989] Exemption for Certain Prohibited Transactions Involving the Association of Washington Business (AWB) HealthChoice Employee Benefits Trust Located in Olympia, Washington Employee Benefits Security Administration, Labor. ACTION: Notice of exemption. AGENCY: This document gives notice of an individual exemption from certain prohibited transaction restrictions of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). The exemption permits the trustee of a plan funded by the AWB HealthChoice Employee Benefits Trust (the Arrangement), to hire entities affiliated with AWB to provide services to the Arrangement for a fee subject to conditions designed to safeguard the interests of the plan and its participants and beneficiaries. DATES: Exemption date: This final exemption will be in effect as of July 9, 2024. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Susan Wilker, Office of Exemption Determinations, Employee Benefits Security Administration, U.S. Department of Labor, (202) 693–8557 (this is not a toll-free number). SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: AWB, Forterra and ProPoint (the Applicants) requested an exemption pursuant to ERISA section 408(a) and supplemented the request with certain additional information (collectively, this information is referred to as ‘‘the Application’’).1 On June 14, 2023, the Department published a notice of proposed exemption in the Federal Register at 88 FR 38896 (Proposed Exemption). Based on the record and representations of the Applicants, the Department has determined to grant the Proposed Exemption with the modifications discussed below. This exemption provides only the relief specified herein and does not provide relief from violations of any law other SUMMARY: 1 The procedures for requesting an exemption are set forth in 29 CFR part 2570, subpart B (76 FR 66637, 66644, October 27, 2011). Effective December 31, 1978, section 102 of the Reorganization Plan No. 4 of 1978, 5 U.S.C. App. 1 (1996), transferred the authority of the Secretary of the Treasury to issue administrative exemptions under the Code Section 4975(c)(2) to the Secretary of Labor. Accordingly, the Department grants this exemption under its sole authority. E:\FR\FM\09JYN1.SGM 09JYN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 131 (Tuesday, July 9, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 56408-56409]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-14965]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Modification of Consent Decree 
Under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act

    On June 29, 2024, the Department of Justice lodged with the United 
States District Court for the Western District of Michigan a proposed 
Eighth Modification of Consent Decree (``Eighth Modification'') in the 
lawsuit entitled United States v. Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership, 
et al., Civil Action No. 1:16-cv-914.
    On May 23, 2017, the United States District Court for the Western 
District of Michigan approved and entered a Consent Decree that 
resolved specified claims asserted by the United States against 
Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership and eight affiliated entities 
(``Enbridge'') under the Clean Water Act and Oil Pollution Act arising 
from two separate 2010 oil spills resulting from failures of Enbridge 
oil transmission pipelines near Marshall, Michigan and Romeoville, 
Illinois. The complaint filed by the United States alleged that 
Enbridge's pipelines had unlawfully discharged oil into waters of the 
United States and sought civil penalties, recovery of removal costs, 
and injunctive relief. The Consent Decree established various 
requirements applicable to a network of 14 pipelines that comprise 
Enbridge's Lakehead System--including dig selection criteria governing 
excavation, repair or mitigation, and imposition of interim pressure 
restrictions for various features, such a cracks, that are detected 
through In-Line Inspections (``ILI'') of such pipelines. The proposed 
Modification would revise provisions of the Consent Decree relating to 
the investigation and repair of ``circumferential cracks''--i.e., 
cracks that are predominantly oriented around the circumference of the 
pipeline as opposed to cracks oriented along the length (or central 
axis) of the pipeline.
    First, the proposed Eighth Modification would require Enbridge to 
investigate circumferential crack features in four pipelines. In three 
pipelines (Lines 2, 62 and a portion of Line 1), Enbridge will deploy 
ILI tools that are specifically designed to identify and measure 
circumferential crack features. In a fourth pipeline (Line 4),

[[Page 56409]]

Enbridge will undertake a newly-created program to excavate and examine 
a minimum of ten pipe joints that are likely to contain the most severe 
circumferential crack features. Based upon the results of this 
investigation, Enbridge will attempt to pass an agreed-upon statistical 
test for determining whether unexcavated portions of the pipeline are 
likely to contain any Circumferential Cracks that require repair.
    Second, the proposed Eighth Modification would revise the methods 
used by Enbridge for assessing whether a circumferential crack must be 
excavated and repaired. The new methods are tailored to address the 
unique threats posed by circumferential crack features, taking into 
account all stresses and loading conditions that may cause a 
circumferential crack to grow and ultimately fail. The proposed Eighth 
Modification would require Enbridge to apply these new assessment 
methods not only to circumferential crack features in Lines 1, 2, 4, 
and 62 that Enbridge would be required to investigate under the 
proposed Eighth Modification, but also those circumferential crack 
features in Lines 5, 6A, and 10 that Enbridge previously discovered 
through past ILIs but that Enbridge has not yet excavated and repaired.
    Third, the proposed Eighth Modification adjusts certain 
requirements relating to the repair and mitigation of Circumferential 
Crack features. The proposed Eighth Modification allows more time for 
the excavation and repair of Circumferential Cracks than is generally 
afforded for the excavation and repair of axially-aligned cracks (i.e., 
a crack oriented in parallel to the flow of oil through the pipeline). 
Further, Enbridge will not be required, in all instances, to limit 
operating pressure in a pipeline until such repairs are completed. 
Rather, Enbridge will be required to establish an interim pressure 
restriction only if a Circumferential Crack is growing at a rate that 
poses a threat to the integrity of the pipeline.
    Fouth, the proposed Eighth Modification would eliminate two 
requirements in the Consent Decree relating to Circumferential Cracks. 
In contrast to axially-aligned cracks, circumferential crack features 
that do not require excavation and repair would not be evaluated to 
determine their remaining life (i.e., the estimated time remaining 
before a feature may fail either by leaking or rupturing). In addition, 
the proposed Eighth Modification would not impose any requirements on 
Enbridge with respect to the future deployment of ILI tools to re-
inspect circumferential crack features in Lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 6A, 10, and 
62.
    Finally, the proposed Eighth Modification would revise the 
Termination Section of the Consent Decree, enabling Enbridge to seek 
early termination of certain requirements relating to circumferential 
crack features. The proposed Eighth Modification would require Enbridge 
to incorporate the circumferential crack remedial program into its 
operating manual, which is enforceable by the Pipeline and Hazardous 
Materials Safety Administration (``PHMSA''). Once the manual is 
revised, Enbridge may request ``Phase 1'' Final Termination, which, 
upon approval by EPA, will terminate all aspects of the Consent Decree 
other than two discrete programs relating to circumferential cracks. 
Phase 2 Final Termination will occur once the United States files 
notice with the Court confirming that Enbridge has fully implemented 
these two remaining programs.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the proposed Eighth Modification of Consent Decree. Comments should be 
addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural 
Resources Division, and should refer to United States v. Enbridge 
Energy, Limited Partnership, et al., D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-10099. 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:

------------------------------------------------------------------------
         To submit comments:                     Send them to:
------------------------------------------------------------------------
By email............................  [email protected].
By mail.............................  Assistant Attorney General, U.S.
                                       DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611,
                                       Washington, DC 20044-7611.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

    During the public comment period, the proposed Eighth Modification 
may be examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: 
https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. If you require assistance 
accessing the proposed Eighth Modification, you may request assistance 
by email or by mail to the address provided above for submitting 
comments.

Laura A. Thoms,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-14965 Filed 7-8-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-15-P


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