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[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 152 (Wednesday, August 7, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 48161-48163]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-19073]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9844-5]

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 or the Act), notice is hereby given of a proposed consent 
decree to address a lawsuit filed by Sierra Club (Plaintiff) in the 
United States District Court for the District of Columbia: Sierra Club 
v. Jackson, No.1:12-cv-01237-ESH (D.D.C.). On or about July 26, 2012, 
the plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that EPA had failed to take 
action on certain State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittals by the 
states of New Jersey and Michigan. Specifically, the complaint alleged 
that EPA had failed to make a finding that the state of New Jersey did 
not submit SIP revisions addressing the nonattainment New Source Review 
requirements for the 1997 fine particulate matter National Ambient Air 
Quality Standard (1997 PM2.5 NAAQS) in the State of New 
Jersey portion of the Philadelphia-Wilmington nonattainment area. The 
complaint further alleged that EPA had failed to take final action on 
the attainment demonstration, contingency measures, emission inventory 
and Reasonably Available Control Measures or Reasonably Available 
Control Technology (RACM/RACT), requirements for the 1997 
PM2.5 NAAQS in both the State of Michigan's SIP submittal 
for the Detroit-Ann Arbor nonattainment area and the New Jersey SIP 
submittal for the State of New Jersey portion of the Philadelphia-
Wilmington nonattainment area. The complaint also alleged that EPA 
failed to publish a notice of determination in the Federal Register 
regarding whether the Detroit-Ann Arbor area had attained the 1997 
PM2.5 NAAQS by the applicable

[[Page 48162]]

attainment date. The proposed consent decree establishes deadlines for 
EPA to take certain actions.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by September 6, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2013-0553, 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: Winifred N. Okoye, Air and Radiation 
Law Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-5446; fax number (202) 564-5603; email address: 
okoye.winifred@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    The proposed consent decree would resolve a lawsuit seeking to 
compel action by the Administrator to take final action under section 
110(k)(3) and (4), 42 U.S.C. 7410(k)(3) and (4), to approve or 
disapprove, in whole or in part certain States of New Jersey and 
Michigan SIP submittals.
    The proposed consent decree requires EPA, on or before September 
30, 2013, to sign and thereafter promptly forward to the Office of 
Federal Register for review and publication a notice of final action 
addressing whether the State of New Jersey has failed to submit SIP 
revisions addressing the nonattainment New Source Review requirements 
for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS in the State of New Jersey portion 
of the Philadelphia-Wilmington nonattainment area. The proposed consent 
decree also requires EPA, on or before November 30, 2013, to sign and 
thereafter promptly forward to the Office of Federal Register for 
review and publication a notice taking final action on the attainment 
demonstration, contingency measures, emission inventory and Reasonably 
Available Control Measures or Reasonably Available Control Technology 
(RACM/RACT), requirements for the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS in the 
State of New Jersey SIP submittal for the State of New Jersey portion 
of the Philadelphia-Wilmington nonattainment area. EPA is not required, 
however, to act on any submission or portion thereof that is withdrawn 
prior to the applicable deadline. Because the state of Michigan 
withdrew its SIP submission for the attainment demonstration for the 
Detroit-Ann Arbor 1997 PM2.5 nonattainment area, on May 20, 
2013, the proposed consent decree does not require EPA to act on this 
submission or any portion thereof.
    The proposed consent decree also states that the consent decree can 
be modified by either the parties, or the court following a motion by a 
party and a response thereto. In addition, the parties agree to 
informally resolve Sierra Club's claim for litigation costs pursuant to 
section 304(d), 42 U.S.C. 7604(d), but that 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 receive 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 which may be submitted, that 
consent to the 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?

    Direct your comments to the official public docket for this action 
under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC- 2013-0553, which contains a copy of 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, select 
``search,'' then key in the appropriate docket identification number.
    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

[[Page 48163]]

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: July 31, 2013.
Lorie J. Schmidt,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2013-19073 Filed 8-6-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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