[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 151 (Monday, August 6, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46757-46759]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-19128]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9711-5]
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''), notice is hereby given of a proposed consent decree,
to address a lawsuit filed by Sierra Club in the United States District
Court for the District of Columbia: Sierra Club v. Jackson, No. 11-
2180-RBW (D. DC). Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that EPA failed
to take action on certain state implementation plan (``SIP'')
submissions for the States of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey,
New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware by the statutory deadline
established by CAA section 110(k)(2), 7410(k)(2). The proposed consent
decree establishes deadlines for EPA to take action on the SIP
submittals.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received
by September 5, 2012.
[[Page 46758]]
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2012-0595, online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method);
by email to oei.docket@epa.gov; mailed 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: David Orlin, Air and Radiation Law
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone: (202) 564-1222; fax number (202) 564-5601; email address:
orlin.david@epa.gov.
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 final action
under sections 110(k)(3) and (4) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7410(k)(3) and
(4), to approve or disapprove, in whole or in part, numerous SIP
submittals in the States of Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, New
York, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware which are identified in
Attachment A to the proposed consent decree.
The proposed consent decree provides various dates by which EPA
shall sign one or more final rules to approve or disapprove, in whole
or in part, pursuant to CAA section 110(k)(3) and (4), each SIP
submission (or portion thereof on which EPA has not yet taken final
action) identified in Attachment A; except that the consent decree does
not require EPA to act on a submission or portion thereof that is
withdrawn prior to the applicable deadline.
Within 15 business days following signature of each final rule
described in the proposed consent decree, EPA is required to send the
notice to the Office of the Federal Register for review and publication
in the Federal Register. After EPA fulfills its obligations under the
consent decree, the consent decree provides that this case shall be
dismissed with prejudice.
The proposed consent decree also states that that the consent
decree can be modified by the parties, or by the court following a
motion by a party and a response thereto. In addition, the parties
agree to seek to resolve informally Sierra Club's claim for litigation
costs pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 7604(d), but the court would retain
jurisdiction to resolve that claim.
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-2012-0595) contains a copy of the proposed consent
decree (including Attachment A). 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 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 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 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
[[Page 46759]]
that is placed in the official public docket, and made available in
EPA's electronic public docket.
Dated: July 27, 2012.
Lorie J. Schmidt,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2012-19128 Filed 8-3-12; 8:45 am]
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