81 FR 54800 - Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 159 (August 17, 2016)

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.

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 159 (Wednesday, August 17, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54800-54801]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[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]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P