[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 153 (Friday, August 8, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46439-46440]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-18828]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL 9914-89-OGC]
Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.
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''), notice is hereby given of a proposed
consent decree to address a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club in the
United States District Court for the Northern District of California:
Sierra Club v. McCarthy, Civil Action No. 3:14-cv-00964-JD (N.D. Cal.).
On March 3, 2014, Plaintiff filed a complaint which alleged that Gina
McCarthy, in her official capacity as Administrator of the United
States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA''), failed to perform a
mandatory duty to find that certain states failed to submit state
implementation plans (``SIPs'') for named areas to address certain
prevention of significant deterioration (``PSD'') program requirements
for fine particulate matter, or PM2.5. The proposed consent
decree would establish deadlines for EPA to take some of these actions.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received
by September 8, 2014.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2014-0585, online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method);
by email to [email protected]; 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: Stephanie Hogan, Air and Radiation Law
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone: (202) 564-3244; fax number: (202) 564-5603; email address:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree
The proposed consent decree would resolve a lawsuit filed by the
Sierra Club seeking to compel the Administrator to take actions under
CAA sections 110(k). Under the terms of the proposed consent decree,
EPA would agree to sign a notice or notices by no later than August 15,
2014, finding that the States of Vermont, Wisconsin, and California (as
to the North Coast Management
[[Page 46440]]
District) failed to submit SIP revisions addressing the
PM2.5 PSD increments and implementing regulations required
by the final rule, ``Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) for
Particulate Matter Less Than 2.5 Micrometers (PM2.5)--
Increments, Significant Impact Levels (SILs) and Significant Monitoring
Concentration (SMC),'' 75 FR 64,864 (Oct. 20, 2010). The proposed
consent decree also provides that if any of these States makes a
complete submission addressing the requirements prior to August 15,
2014, then EPA's obligation to take the required action is
automatically terminated.
Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, EPA will deliver
notice of each action to the Office of the Federal Register for review
and publication within 15 days of signature. In addition, the proposed
consent decree outlines the procedure for the Plaintiff to request
costs of litigation, including attorney fees.
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 are 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 consent 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: EPA-HQ-
OGC-2014-0585) 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
www.regulations.gov. You may use www.regulations.gov to submit or view
public comments, access the index listing of the contents of the
official public docket, and 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 www.regulations.gov without change, unless
the comment contains copyrighted material, confidential business
information (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 email 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 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, email 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
(email) system is not an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an
email comment directly to the Docket without going through
www.regulations.gov, your email 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: July 31, 2014.
Patricia Embrey,
Acting Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2014-18828 Filed 8-7-14; 8:45 am]
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