[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 159 (Wednesday, August 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54800-54801]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-19638]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9950-99-OGC; EPA-HQ-OGC-2016-0364]
Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Supplemental notice of proposed consent decree; request for
public comment.
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SUMMARY: Supplemental notice is hereby given for the Wyoming portions
of a proposed consent decree to address a lawsuit filed by the Sierra
Club (``Plaintiff'') in the United States District Court for the
Northern District of California: Sierra Club v. Gina McCarthy, No.
3:15-cv-04328-JD (N.D. Cal.). On September 22, 2015, Plaintiffs filed
this matter against Gina McCarthy, in her official capacity as
Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(``EPA''). On February 9, 2016, Plaintiff filed a first amended
complaint alleging that, with respect to the 2008 ozone national
ambient air quality standards (``NAAQS''), EPA has failed to perform
non-discretionary duties to take final action on portions of the state
implementation plan (``SIP'') submission from Wyoming intended to
address various interstate transport requirements. The proposed consent
decree would establish a deadline for EPA to take certain specified
actions.
DATES: Written comments on the Wyoming portions of the proposed consent
decree must be received by September 1, 2016.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2016-0364, online at www.regulations.gov. For comments submitted at
Regulations.gov, follow the online instructions for submitting
comments. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from
Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any comment received to its public
docket. Do not submit electronically any information you consider to be
Confidential Business Information (CBI) or other information whose
disclosure is restricted by statute. Multimedia submissions (audio,
video, etc.) must be accompanied by a written comment. The written
comment is considered the official comment and should include
discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA will generally not
consider comments or comment contents located outside of the primary
submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other file sharing system). For
additional submission methods, please contact the person identified in
the ``For Further Information Contact'' section. For the full EPA
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions,
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Zachary Pilchen, Air and Radiation Law
Office, Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency; telephone: (202) 564-2812; fax number (202) 564-5603; email
address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree and This
Supplemental Notice With Regard to Wyoming
This proposed consent decree would resolve a lawsuit filed by
Plaintiffs seeking to compel the Administrator to take action under
Clean Air Act (``CAA'') section 110(k)(2)-(4). As relevant to this
supplemental notice, Plaintiffs allege that the Administrator
[[Page 54801]]
has failed to perform a non-discretionary duty to take final action on
portions of Wyoming's SIP submission intended to address the
requirements of 42 U.S.C. 7410(a)(2)(D)(i) for the 2008 ozone NAAQS.
EPA previously published notice of this proposed consent decree on
June 29, 2016.\1\ The ``Summary'' section of that notice listed a
number of states with SIP submissions relevant to the proposed consent
decree and notice, including Wyoming. The proposed consent decree
itself--to which the notice directed readers for more details--included
the specific claims and dates relevant to Wyoming. The Wyoming
Department of Environmental Quality (``WDEQ'') submitted comments on
the proposed consent decree, including with respect to those proposed
consent decree dates, which WDEQ accurately characterized as ``Proposed
Consent Decree Deadlines Applicable to Wyoming's Submittal.'' \2\
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\1\ 81 FR 42351 (June 29, 2016).
\2\ See Comment of WDEQ at 1, Docket No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2016-0364-
0004.
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A separate part of that June 29, 2016 notice, however, included a
scrivener's error. In the ``Supplementary Information'' section, the
notice briefly summarized (in alphabetical order by state) the
allegations regarding SIP submissions. As WDEQ noted in its comment
letter, despite Wyoming's inclusion in the ``Summary'' section of the
notice, the ``Supplementary Information'' section did not list Wyoming,
and instead listed Wisconsin as both of the two final states.\3\ The
second reference to Wisconsin was a scrivener's error that should have
referred to Wyoming, as WDEQ correctly concluded in its comments on the
proposed consent decree deadlines for Wyoming.
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\3\ See 81 FR at 42351, col. 3.
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WDEQ commented, however, that as a result of this error the notice
was ``unclear'' about ``what allegation details'' apply to Wyoming.\4\
CAA section 113(g) requires notice of a proposed consent decree;
supplementary information about the allegations is not required.
However, as a courtesy and out of an abundance of caution, for a period
of fifteen (15) days following the date of publication of this
supplemental notice, the Agency will accept written comments relating
solely to the Wyoming portions of 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 Wyoming portions of 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.
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\4\ Comment of WDEQ at 1.
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II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent
Decree
A. How can I get a copy of the proposed consent decree?
The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2016-0364) 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 the 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, 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. 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: August 10, 2016.
Lorie J. Schmidt,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2016-19638 Filed 8-16-16; 8:45 am]
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