[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 154 (Thursday, August 11, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-19572]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: August 11, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Lodging of Final (Consent) Judgment Pursuant to the Clean Water
Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act
In accordance with Departmental Policy, 28 CFR 50.7, notice is
hereby given that a Final (Consent) Judgment in United States v.
Westinghouse Communities of Naples, Inc., Civil Action No. 94-234-CIV-
FTM-17D (M.D. Fla.), was lodged with the United States District Court
for the Middle District of Florida on July 18, 1994.
The proposed Final (Consent) Judgment concerns alleged violations
of sections 301(a) and 404 of the Clean Water Act, 33 U.S.C. 1311(a)
and 1344, and section 10 of the Rivers and Harbors Act of 1899, 33
U.S.C. 403, as a result of the discharge of fill material into a tidal
pond and the unauthorized construction of a bulkhead. The Defendant,
Westinghouse Communities of Naples, Inc., was issued a permit by the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1981, which authorized the filling of
approximately 76 acres of wetlands as part of a residential development
project. In mitigation, the permit required Defendant to excavate a 5-
acre tidal pond to create a shoreline habitat and it contained an
express condition that no bulkhead or other structures would be allowed
in Clam Bay's system or adjacent wetlands. Defendant subsequently
discharged approximately 7 cubic yards of fill into the 5-acre
mitigation pond in connection with the construction of a 400-foot-long
vertical bulkhead and a portion of the bulkhead was placed over the
fill. Those activities were contrary to the specific terms and
conditions of the 1981 permit and, therefore, constituted violations of
the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act.
The site of the violations is north, east and west of Upper Clam
Bay and south of Vanderbilt Beach Road (SR862) in Sections 32 and 33,
Township 48 South, Range 25 East and Sections 4, 5, 8 and 9, Township
49, South, Range 25 East in Collier County, Florida. The property
contains wetlands adjacent to Upper Clam Bay-Pelican Bay and those
wetlands are waters of the United States as defined in the Clean Water
Act.
The Final (Consent) Judgment requires Westinghouse Communities of
Naples, Inc. to pay a civil penalty in the amount of $15,000 for its
violations of the permit. Under the settlement, the fill material and
the bulkhead will be authorized to remain in place under Nationwide
Permit No. 32.
The Department of Justice will receive written comments relating to
the Final (Consent) Judgment for a period of 30 days from the date of
publication of this notice. Comments should be addressed to Michael A.
Cauley, Assistant U.S. Attorney, Middle District of Florida, 500 Zack
Street, Suite 400, Tampa, FL 33602, and should refer to United States
v. Westinghouse Communities of Naples, Inc., Civil Action No. 94-234-
CIV-FTM-17D (M.D. Fla.).
The Consent Decree may be examined at the Clerk's Office, United
States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Forty Myers
Division, First and Lee Street, Ft. Myers, Florida 33901.
Lois J. Schiffer,
Acting Assistant Attorney General, Environment & Natural Resources
Division.
[FR Doc. 94-19572 Filed 8-10-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4410-01-M