4410-15
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree under the Safe Drinking Water Act
On June 24, 2024, the Department of Justice lodged a proposed consent decree with the
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in the lawsuit entitled United
States v. Westchester Joint Water Works, et al., Civil Action No. 24 Civ. 4783.
The United States filed this lawsuit seeking injunctive relief and civil penalties for
violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act against defendants Westchester Joint Water Works,
the Town/Village of Harrison, the Village of Mamaroneck, and the Town of Mamaroneck,
for violations of the maximum contaminant level set by the United States Environmental
Protection Agency (“EPA”) for certain disinfectant byproducts in drinking water, and violations
of a related EPA administrative order requiring the construction of a water filtration plant by
specified deadlines.
The consent decree requires the defendants to build and commence operation of a
drinking water filtration plant by July 1, 2029; to continue to implement measures to ensure the
safety of its water supply until the filtration plant is operational; to pay a $600,000 civil penalty
to the United States; and to spend at least $900,000 on a Supplemental Environmental Project to
improve source water quality. The consent decree also resolves claims by the State of New York
to enforce a previous state court judgment against Westchester Joint Water Works for violating
separate regulations requiring the implementation of filtration. In addition to the construction of
the filtration plant, the consent decree requires defendants to pay a $650,000 civil penalty to New
York and to spend at least $6,800,000 on two state water quality benefit projects.
The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on the consent decree.
Comments should be addressed to the Assistant Attorney General, Environment and Natural
Resources Division, and should refer to United States v. Westchester Joint Water Works, et al.,
D.J. Ref. No. 90-5-1-1-12441. All comments must be submitted no later than thirty (30) days

after the publication date of this notice. Comments may be submitted either by e-mail or by
mail:
To submit comments:

Send them to:

By e-mail

pubcomment-ees.enrd@usdoj.gov

By mail

Assistant Attorney General
U.S. DOJ – ENRD
P.O. Box 7611
Washington, D.C. 20044-7611

Any comments submitted in writing may be filed by the United States in whole or in part
on the public court docket without notice to the commenter.
During the public comment period, the consent decree may be examined and downloaded
at this Justice Department website: http://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. If you require
assistance accessing the consent decree, you may request assistance by email or by mail to the
addresses provided above for submitting comments.

Henry S. Friedman,
Assistant Section Chief,
Environmental Enforcement Section,
Environment and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2024-14287 Filed: 6/27/2024 8:45 am; Publication Date: 6/28/2024]