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[Federal Register: March 12, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 48)]
[Notices]               
[Page 11886-11887]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr12mr10-62]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9126-6]

 
Proposed Settlement Agreement and Consent Decree, Clean Air Act 
Citizen Suit

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed settlement agreement and consent decree; 
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 and consent decree, to address a lawsuit 
filed by Wildearth Guardians: Wildearth Guardians v. Jackson, Civil 
Action No. 09-cv-02148-REB-MJW (D. Col.). On or about October 22, 2009, 
Wildearth Guardians filed an amended complaint alleging that EPA 
Administrator Jackson failed to comply with a mandatory duty to fully 
or partially approve or disapprove State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
submissions from the States of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Utah 
within the time frame required by section 110(k)(2) of the Act and 
asking the court to enter judgment providing: (i) A declaration that 
EPA has violated and continues to violate the Act by failing to take 
final action on the SIP submittals; and, (ii) An injunction compelling 
EPA to take final action on the SIP submittals by a date certain with 
interim deadlines to assure compliance with the court's order. Under 
the terms of the proposed settlement agreement and consent decree, EPA 
agrees to sign a proposed action on certain of the SIP submittals by 
the date specified for the particular submittal and to take final 
action on each of the SIP submittals by the date specified for the 
particular submittal.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement and 
consent decree must be received by April 12, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2010-0221, online at 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: Rick Vetter, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (919) 541-2127; fax number (919) 541-4991; e-mail address: 
vetter.rick@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

 I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement or Consent 
Decree

    On October 22, 2009, Wildearth Guardians, a non-profit conservation 
organization, filed an amended complaint in the United States District 
Court for the District of Colorado (Civil Action No. 09-cv-02148-REB-
MJW). In the amended complaint, Wildearth Guardians alleges that EPA 
has failed to take action to approve or disapprove, in whole or in 
part, a number of State Implementation Plan (``SIP'') submissions from 
the States of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Utah within the time 
frame required by section 110(k)(2) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. 
7410(k)(2), in violation of its non-discretionary duty to take such 
action within that time frame. The amended complaint identifies a total 
of 55 SIP submittals (10 from Colorado, 12 from Montana, 7 from Utah 
and 26 from New Mexico) on which EPA is alleged to have failed to take 
timely action.
    The EPA elected to use both a settlement agreement and a consent

[[Page 11887]]

decree to document its agreement with Wildearth Guardians. Both 
documents identify each individual SIP submittal that is addressed in 
the particular document. For some of the submittals the relevant 
document specifies both a date for signature on a proposed action and a 
date for signature on a final action, while for others, the relevant 
document only specifies a date for signature on a final action. The 
earliest date by which signature on a final action is required is 12/
31/2010 and the latest date by which signature on a final action is 
required is 6/29/2012.
    For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication 
of this notice, the Agency will receive written comments relating to 
the proposed settlement agreement and 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 settlement agreement and/or 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 which may be submitted, that consent 
to the settlement agreement and/or consent decree should be withdrawn, 
the terms of the agreement and decree will be affirmed.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement 
Agreement and/or Consent Decree

A. How Can I Get a Copy of the Settlement Agreement and/or Consent 
Decree?

    Direct your comments to the official public docket for this action 
under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2010-0221 which contains a copy of both 
the settlement agreement and the 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 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 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 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 
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: March 8, 2010.
Richard B. Ossias,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2010-5483 Filed 3-11-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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