[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 170 (Thursday, September 1, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54463-54465]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-22429]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9458-7]
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 Sierra Club in the United States District Court
for the Northern District of California: WildEarth Guardians et al. v.
Jackson, No. 3:11-cv-00190-WHA (N.D. Cal.). On July 6, 2011, Plaintiffs
filed an amended complaint alleging that EPA failed, among other
things, to take final action under section 110(k)(2) and (3) of the CAA
to approve or disapprove, approve in part, or disapprove in part State
Implementation
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Plan (SIP) submittals or portions of submittals meeting applicable
requirements of section 110(a)(2) of the CAA, for the States of
Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee,
Indiana, Maine, Ohio, New Mexico, Delaware, Kentucky, Nevada, Arkansas,
New Hampshire, South Carolina, Massachusetts, Arizona, Georgia and West
Virginia with regards to the 2006 PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality
Standards (``NAAQS''). The proposed consent decree establishes
deadlines for EPA to take these actions.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received
by October 3, 2011.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2011-0618, 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: Geoffrey L. Wilcox, Air and Radiation
Law Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone: (202) 564-5601; fax number (202) 564-5603; e-mail address:
wilcox.geoffrey@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree
The proposed consent decree would resolve a portion of a lawsuit
seeking to compel the Administrator to take final action under sections
110(k)(2) and (3) of the CAA to either approve or disapprove, approve
in part, or disapprove in part SIP submittals or portions of submittals
meeting applicable requirements of section 110(a)(2) of the CAA. The
SIP submissions at issue are the ``infrastructure'' SIPs that States
are required to submit to meet the basic structural requirements to
provide for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the
2006 PM2.5 NAAQS within the 20 named States. Under the consent decree,
various deadlines have been established for EPA to take final action
for the States of Alabama, Connecticut, Florida, Mississippi, North
Carolina, Tennessee, Indiana, Maine, Ohio, New Mexico, Delaware,
Kentucky, Nevada, Arkansas, New Hampshire, South Carolina,
Massachusetts, Arizona, Georgia and West Virginia. No later than 15
business days after taking each action, EPA shall send the notice(s) of
such action to the Office of the Federal Register for review and
publication in the Federal Register. After EPA fulfills its obligations
under the decree, the Plaintiffs and EPA agree to file a joint motion
for voluntary dismissal, 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 that consent to this consent decree should be
withdrawn, the terms of the agreement 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-2011-0618) 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 in 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.
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,
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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: August 26, 2011.
Patricia Embrey,
Acting Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2011-22429 Filed 8-31-11; 8:45 am]
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