[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 171 (Friday, September 4, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45851-45852]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-21400]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8953-5]
Proposed Settlement Agreement
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed settlement agreement; request for public
comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as
amended (``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a
proposed settlement agreement to address a lawsuit filed by Colorado
Citizens Against ToxicWaste and Rocky Mountain Clean Air Action
(collectively ``Plaintiffs'') in the United States District Court for
the District of Colorado: Colorado Citizens Against ToxicWaste et al.
v. Jackson, No. 08-cv-1787 (D. Colo). On or about August 21, 2008,
Plaintiffs filed a Complaint alleging that EPA failed to perform a non-
discretionary duty to review, and if appropriate revise, 40 CFR Part
61, Subpart W, National Emission Standards for Radon Emissions from
Operating Mill Tailings, to comply with the requirements of CAA section
112(d). Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement,
Plaintiffs shall file a motion for voluntary dismissal of the
Complaint, with prejudice, within 10 business days after publication in
the Federal Register of either: EPA's issuance of a final determination
not to revise Subpart W; or EPA's promulgation of a final revision of
Subpart W.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be
received by October 5, 2009.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2009-0679, 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: Susan Stahle, Air and Radiation Law
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone: (202) 564-1272; fax number (202) 564-5603; e-mail address:
stahle.susan@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement Agreement
This proposed settlement agreement would settle a deadline suit
filed by Plaintiffs for EPA's failure to review, and if appropriate
revise, 40 CFR Part 61, Subpart W, National Emission Standards for
Radon Emissions from Operating Mill Tailings, to comply with the
requirements of CAA section 112(d). Under the terms of the proposed
settlement agreement, within 10 business days after Plaintiffs and EPA
have signed this agreement, the Parties shall file a joint motion with
the Court notifying it of this agreement and request that this case be
stayed pending completion of the process under section 113(g) of the
CAA as set forth in Paragraph 12 of this agreement. Within 10 business
days of the date this agreement becomes final, Plaintiffs shall file a
motion to administratively close this case. If EPA signs and submits
for publication in the Federal Register EPA's promulgation of either
(1) EPA's issuance of a final determination not to revise Subpart W or
(2) EPA's promulgation of a final revision of Subpart W, Plaintiffs
shall file a motion for voluntary dismissal of the Complaint, with
prejudice, pursuant to Fed. R. Civ. P. 41(a), within 10 business days
of such publication. Paragraph 3 contains additional steps that EPA
will complete under the agreement.
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 settlement agreement 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
settlement agreement 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 settlement agreement should be withdrawn, the terms of
the agreement will be affirmed.
II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement
Agreement
A. How Can I Get a Copy of the Settlement Agreement?
The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2009-0679) contains a copy of the proposed settlement
agreement. 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, select ``search,'' then key in the appropriate docket
identification number.
[[Page 45852]]
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, 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: September 1, 2009.
Richard B. Ossias,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E9-21400 Filed 9-3-09; 8:45 am]
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