[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 241 (Thursday, December 17, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 66966-66967]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-30044]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9093-3]
Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed consent decree; request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as
amended (``CAA'' or the ``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby
given of a proposed consent decree to address a lawsuit filed by
WildEarth Guardians and San Juan Citizens Alliance in the United States
District Court for the District of Columbia: WildEarth Guardians, et
al. v. Jackson, No. 1:09-CV-00089-CKK (D. D.C.). On January 14, 2009,
Plaintiffs filed a complaint alleging that EPA failed to meet its
obligations under sections 111(b)(1)(B), 112(d)(6) and 112(f)(2) of the
Clean Air Act (``CAA'') to take actions relative to the review/revision
of the New Source Performance Standards and the National Emission
Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants with respect to the Oil and
Natural Gas production source category. The proposed consent decree
establishes deadlines for EPA's proposed and final actions for meeting
these obligations.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received
January 19, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2009-0918, online at http://www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred
method); by e-mail to oei.docket@epa.gov; by mail to EPA Docket Center,
Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; or by hand delivery or courier to
EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday,
excluding legal holidays. Comments on a disk or CD-ROM should be
formatted in Word or ASCII file, avoiding the use of special characters
and any form of encryption, and may be mailed to the mailing address
above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Branning, Air and Radiation Law
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone: (202) 564-1744; fax number (202) 564-5603; e-mail address:
branning.amy@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree
Under sections 111(b)(1)(B), 112(d)(6) and 112(f)(2) of the CAA,
EPA has a mandatory duty to take actions relative to the review/
revision of new source performance standards (``NSPS'') and national
emission standards for hazardous air pollutants (``NESHAP'') within
eight years of the issuance of the standards. The proposed consent
decree would resolve a deadline suit filed by Plaintiffs for EPA's
failure to take the above actions within eight years of issuing NSPS
and NESHAP for the Oil and Natural Gas production source category. The
proposed Consent Decree requires that EPA sign by January 31, 2011
proposed standards and/or determinations not to issue standards
pursuant to sections 111(b)(1)(B), 112(d)(6) and 112(f)(2), and that
EPA finalize its proposals by November 30, 2011. The proposed Consent
Decree authorizes EPA to sign by January 31, 2011 a final determination
not to review the NSPS pursuant to section 111(b)(1)(B) without issuing
a proposal for such determination. The approach of determining not to
review is not available for actions under section 112. The proposed
Consent Decree further requires that, within 15 business days following
signature, EPA shall deliver a notice of such action to the Office of
the Federal Register for prompt publication. The proposed consent
decree states that, after EPA fulfills its obligations under the
decree, the case shall be dismissed with prejudice.
For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication
of this notice, the Agency will accept written comments relating to the
proposed consent decree from persons who were not named as parties or
intervenors to the litigation in question. EPA or the Department of
Justice may withdraw or withhold consent to the proposed consent decree
if the comments disclose facts or considerations that indicate that
such consent is inappropriate, improper, inadequate, or inconsistent
with the requirements of the Act. Unless EPA or the Department of
Justice determines, based on any comment submitted, that consent to
this consent decree should be withdrawn, the terms of the decree will
be affirmed.
II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent
Decree
A. How Can I Get A Copy of the Consent Decree?
The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2009-0918) contains a copy of the proposed consent
decree. The official public docket is available for public viewing at
the Office of Environmental Information (OEI) Docket in the EPA Docket
Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW., Washington,
DC. The EPA Docket Center Public Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to
4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays. The
telephone number for the Public Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the
telephone number for the OEI Docket is (202) 566-1752.
An electronic version of the public docket is available through
http://www.regulations.gov. You may use http://www.regulations.gov to
submit or view public comments, access the index listing of the
contents of the official public docket, and to access those documents
in the public docket that are available electronically. Once in the
system, key in the appropriate docket identification number then select
``search''.
It is important to note that EPA's policy is that public comments,
whether submitted electronically or on paper, will be made available
for public viewing online at http://www.regulations.gov without change,
unless the comment contains copyrighted material, CBI, or other
information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Information
claimed as CBI and other information whose disclosure is restricted by
statute is not included in the official public docket or in the
electronic public docket. EPA's policy is that copyrighted material,
including copyrighted material contained in a public comment, will not
be placed in EPA's electronic public docket but will be available only
in printed, paper form in the official public docket. Although not all
docket materials may be available electronically, you may still access
any of the publicly available docket materials through the EPA Docket
Center.
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B. How and To Whom Do I Submit Comments?
You may submit comments as provided in the ADDRESSES section.
Please ensure that your comments are submitted within the specified
comment period. Comments received after the close of the comment period
will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to consider these late
comments.
If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends that you
include your name, mailing address, and an e-mail address or other
contact information in the body of your comment and with any disk or
CD-ROM you submit. This ensures that you can be identified as the
submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA
cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties or needs further
information on the substance of your comment. Any identifying or
contact information provided in the body of a comment will be included
as part of the comment that is placed in the official public docket,
and made available in EPA's electronic public docket. If EPA cannot
read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you
for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment.
Use of the http://www.regulations.gov Web site to submit comments
to EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving comments.
The electronic public docket system is an ``anonymous access'' system,
which means EPA will not know your identity, e-mail address, or other
contact information unless you provide it in the body of your comment.
In contrast to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's electronic mail
(e-mail) system is not an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an
e-mail comment directly to the Docket without going through http://www.regulations.gov, your e-mail address is automatically captured and
included as part of the comment that is placed in the official public
docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.
Dated: December 10, 2009.
Richard B. Ossias,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E9-30044 Filed 12-16-09; 8:45 am]
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