Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 224 / Thursday, November 20, 2014 / Notices 69101 

1 Freeport LNG Expansion L.P. and FLNG 

Liquefaction, LLC, DOE/FE Order No. 3282, FE 

Docket No. 10–161–LNG, Order Conditionally 

Granting Long-Term Multi-Contract Authorization 

to Export Liquefied Natural Gas by Vessel from the 

Freeport LNG Terminal on Quintana Island, Texas 

to Non-Free Trade Agreement Nations (May 17, 

2013). 

2 15 U.S.C. 717b(a). This authority is delegated to 

the Assistant Secretary for Fossil Energy pursuant 

to Redelegation Order No. 00–002.04F (July 11, 

2013). 

3On February 7, 2014, DOE/FE issued Order No. 

3282–A, which added FLNG Liquefaction 2, LLC 

and FLNG Liquefaction 3, LLC as applicants and 

authorization holders. On June 6, 2014, DOE/FE 

Continued 

SUMMARY: This notice announces an 

open meeting of the Secretary of Energy 

Advisory Board (SEAB). SEAB was 

reestablished pursuant to the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92– 

463, 86 Stat. 770) (the Act). This notice 

is provided in accordance with the Act. 

DATES: Wednesday, December 3, 2014 

8:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m. (MST). 

ADDRESSES: NREL Education Center, 

National Renewable Energy Laboratory, 

15013 Denver West Parkway, Golden, 

CO, 80401. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Karen Gibson, Designated Federal 

Officer, U.S. Department of Energy, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW., 

Washington, DC 20585; telephone (202) 

586–3787; or email at: seab@hq.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background: The Board was 

established to provide advice and 

recommendations to the Secretary on 

the Department’s basic and applied 

research, economic and national 

security policy, educational issues, 

operational issues, and other activities 

as directed by the Secretary. 

Purpose of the Meeting: This meeting 

is the quarterly meeting of the Board. 

Tentative Agenda: The meeting will 

start at 8:30 a.m. on December 3rd. The 

tentative meeting agenda includes 

updates on the work of the SEAB task 

forces, briefings on topics of interest 

from the Lab and DOE, and comments 

from the public. The meeting will 

conclude at 12:15 p.m. Agenda updates 

will be posted on the SEAB Web site: 

www.energy.gov/seab. 

Public Participation: The meeting is 

open to the public. Individuals who 

would like to attend must RSVP to 

Karen Gibson no later than 5:00 p.m. on 

Wednesday, November 26, 2014 at 

seab@hq.doe.gov. Please provide your 

name, organization, citizenship, and 

contact information. Anyone attending 

the meeting will be required to present 

government-issued identification. 

Individuals and representatives of 

organizations who would like to offer 

comments and suggestions may do so. 

Approximately 15 minutes will be 

reserved for public comments. Time 

allotted per speaker will depend on the 

number who wish to speak but will not 

exceed 3 minutes. The Designated 

Federal Officer is empowered to 

conduct the meeting in a fashion that 

will facilitate the orderly conduct of 

business. Those wishing to speak 

should register to do so beginning at 

8:30 a.m. on December 3rd. 

Those not able to attend the meeting 

or who have insufficient time to address 

the committee are invited to send a 

written statement to Karen Gibson, U.S. 

Department of Energy, 1000 

Independence Avenue SW, Washington 

DC 20585, email to: seab@hq.doe.gov. 

Minutes: The minutes of the meeting 

will be available by contacting Ms. 

Gibson. She may be reached at the 

postal address or email address above, 

or by visiting SEAB’s Web site at 

www.energy.gov/seab. 

Issued in Washington, DC, on November 

14, 2014. 

LaTanya R. Butler, 

Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. 2014–27487 Filed 11–19–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Record of Decision and Floodplain 

Statement of Findings for the Freeport 

LNG Expansion, L.P. Export 

Application 

AGENCY: Office of Fossil Energy, 

Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Record of Decision. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Department of 

Energy (DOE) announces its decision in 

FE Docket Nos. 10–161–LNG and 11– 

161–LNG to issue DOE/FE Order Nos. 

3282–C and 3357–B, granting Freeport 

LNG Expansion L.P., FLNG 

Liquefaction, LLC, FLNG Liquefaction 2, 

LLC, and FLNG Liquefaction 3, LLC 

(collectively, FLEX) final long-term 

multi-contract authority to export 

domestically produced liquefied natural 

gas (LNG) by vessel to nations with 

which the United States has not entered 

into a free trade agreement providing for 

national treatment for trade in natural 

gas (non-FTA countries). Order Nos. 

3282–C and 3357–B are issued under 

section 3 of the Natural Gas Act (NGA). 

The proposed exports will originate 

from the existing Freeport Terminal, 

located on Quintana Island, southeast of 

the City of Freeport in Brazoria County, 

Texas, from liquefaction and related 

facilities to be constructed. DOE 

participated as a cooperating agency 

with the Federal Energy Regulatory 

Commission (FERC) in preparing an 

environmental impact statement (EIS) 

analyzing the potential environmental 

impacts of the proposed Liquefaction 

Project that, if constructed, will be used 

to support the export authorization 

sought from DOE’s Office of Fossil 

Energy (DOE/FE). 

ADDRESSES: The EIS and this Record of 

Decision (ROD) are available on DOE’s 

National Environmental Policy Act 

(NEPA) Web site at http://energy.gov/

nepa/nepa-documents. Order Nos. 

3282–C and 3357–B are available on 

DOE/FE’s Web site at http://energy.gov/ 

fe/downloads/listing-doefeauthorizations-issued-2014. For 

additional information about the 

dockets in these proceedings, contact 

Larine Moore, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Natural Gas Regulatory 

Activities, Office of Fossil Energy, Room 

3E–042, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20585. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: To 

obtain additional information about the 

project, the EIS, or the ROD, contact Mr. 

John Anderson, U.S. Department of 

Energy, Office of Natural Gas Regulatory 

Activities, Office of Fossil Energy, Room 

3E–042, 1000 Independence Avenue 

SW., Washington, DC 20585, (202) 586– 

5600; or Mr. Edward LeDuc, U.S. 

Department of Energy, Office of the 

Assistant General Counsel for 

Environment, 1000 Independence 

Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585, 

(202) 586–4007. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: DOE 

prepared this ROD and Floodplain 

Statement of Findings pursuant to the 

National Environmental Policy Act of 

1969 (42 United States Code [U.S.C.] 

4321, et seq.), and in compliance with 

the Council on Environmental Quality 

(CEQ) implementing regulations for 

NEPA (40 Code of Federal Regulations 

[CFR] parts 1500 through 1508), DOE’s 

implementing procedures for NEPA (10 

CFR Part 1021), and DOE’s ‘‘Compliance 

with Floodplain and Wetland 

Environmental Review Requirements’’ 

(10 CFR part 1022). 

Background 

On May 17, 2013, DOE/FE issued 

Order No. 3282 1 to Freeport LNG 

Expansion L.P. and FLNG Liquefaction, 

LLC, pursuant to section 3(a) of the 

NGA.2 DOE/FE subsequently amended 

Order No. 3282 to add FLNG 

Liquefaction 2, LLC and FLNG 

Liquefaction 3, LLC as applicants and 

authorizations holders, together with 

Freeport LNG Expansion L.P. and FLNG 

Liquefaction, LLC (collectively, FLEX), 

and clarified the order in other 

respects.3 Order No. 3282, as amended, 


rmajette on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
69102 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 224 / Thursday, November 20, 2014 / Notices 

issued Order No. 3282–B, which further amended 

Order No. 3282 to clarify certain ordering 

paragraphs. 

4Application of Freeport LNG Expansion L.P., et 

al., for Long-Term Authorization to Export 

Liquefied Natural Gas to Non-Free Trade Agreement 

Countries, FE Docket No. 10–161–LNG (Dec. 17, 

2010). 

5 Freeport LNG Expansion L.P. et al., DOE/FE 

Order No. 3357, FE Docket No. 11–161–LNG, Order 

Conditionally Granting Long-Term Multi-Contract 

Authorization to Export Liquefied Natural Gas by 

Vessel from the Freeport LNG Terminal on 

Quintana Island, Texas to Non-Free Trade 

Agreement Nations (Nov. 15, 2013). 

6On June 6, 2014, DOE/FE issued Order No. 

3357–A, which amended Order No. 3357 to clarify 

the terms of that Order’s conditional authorization. 

7See DOE/FE Order No. 3282 at 123 (Ordering 

Para. F). 

conditionally granted FLEX’s 

Application 4 in FE Docket No. 10–161– 

LNG for long-term, multi-contract 

authority to export domestically 

produced LNG by vessel to non-FTA 

countries. DOE/FE conditionally 

authorized FLEX to export LNG in a 

volume equivalent to 511 billion cubic 

feet per year (Bcf/yr) of natural gas (1.4 

Bcf per day (Bcf/d)), or approximately 9 

million metric tons per annum (mtpa) of 

LNG, for a term of 20 years. 

On November 15, 2013, DOE/FE 

granted a second non-FTA conditional 

authorization to FLEX in DOE/FE Order 

No. 3357.5 Order No. 3357, as 

subsequently amended in Order No. 

3357–A,6 conditionally authorized 

FLEX to export LNG in a volume 

equivalent to 146 Bcf/yr of natural gas 

(0.4 Bcf/d) for a 20-year term. Together 

with the 1.4 Bcf/d conditionally 

authorized in the first non-FTA order, 

FLEX’s total combined non-FTA export 

volume of 1.8 Bcf/d of natural gas (657 

Bcf/yr) mirrors the known liquefaction 

capacity of the Liquefaction Project. All 

of FLEX’s proposed exports will 

originate from the existing Freeport 

Terminal, located on Quintana Island, 

southeast of the City of Freeport in 

Brazoria County, Texas, and the 

liquefaction and related facilities to be 

constructed by FLEX, as described 

below. 

In June of 2004, the Federal Energy 

Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued 

an order authorizing Freeport LNG 

Development, L.P. to site, construct, and 

operate what is now known as Phase I 

of the Freeport Terminal. In September 

of 2006 FERC issued an order 

authorizing the Phase II expansion of 

the Freeport LNG Terminal, which 

included an expansion of the Freeport 

Terminal’s send-out capacity. In 

December of 2011, in FERC Docket No. 

CP12–29–000, FLEX filed with FERC an 

application requesting authorization to 

expand and modify its previously 

authorized import facilities to facilitate 

the import and export of LNG at the 

Freeport Terminal (the Phase II 

Modification Project). In August 2012, 

in FERC Docket No. CP12–509–000, 

FLEX filed an application with FERC to 

site, construct, and operate the 

Liquefaction Project at the Freeport 

Terminal under NGA section 3. FERC 

reviewed FLEX’s application for the 

Liquefaction Project in FERC Docket No. 

CP12–509–000 in conjunction with 

FLEX’s application for approval of the 

Phase II Modification Project in FERC 

Docket No. CP12–29–000. 

At the time that DOE/FE issued the 

above-referenced non-FTA conditional 

authorizations to FLEX, the matters in 

FERC Docket Nos. CP12–29–000 and 

CP12–509–000 were still pending. 

Accordingly, the non-FTA conditional 

authorizations addressed the record 

evidence in their respective dockets and 

entered findings on all nonenvironmental issues considered under 

NGA section 3(a), including the 

economic impacts, international 

impacts, and security of gas supply 

associated with FLEX’s proposed 

exports. Because DOE/FE must also 

consider environmental issues, DOE/FE 

conditioned its authorizations on the 

satisfactory completion of FLEX’s 

environmental review process under 

NEPA, and on DOE/FE’s issuance of a 

finding of no significant impact or a 

record of decision (ROD).7

Project Description 

The proposed facilities will be 

integrated into the existing Freeport 

Terminal, which presently consists of a 

marine berth, two 160,000 m3 full 

containment LNG storage tanks, LNG 

vaporization systems, associated 

utilities, and a 9.6-mile pipeline and 

meter station. The Phase II Modification 

Project calls for improvements to 

facilities previously authorized by 

FERC, including the re-orientation and 

modification of the Phase II marine 

berthing dock, modifying the LNG 

transfer pipelines between the second 

marine dock and LNG storage tanks (one 

of which is yet to be constructed but 

was approved with the authorization for 

the Phase II expansion), and the 

improvement of the current access road 

system, all contained within the 

previously authorized operational area 

of the Freeport Terminal. 

In addition, the Liquefaction Project 

consists of multiple components, 

including a Liquefaction Plant at and 

adjacent to the existing Quintana Island 

terminal and facilities located beyond 

Quintana Island. The Liquefaction Plant 

would consist of three propane precooled mixed refrigerant liquefaction 

trains, each capable of producing a 

nominal 4.4 million metric tons per 

annum (mtpa) of LNG (13.2 mtpa total) 

for export, which equates to a total 

liquefaction capacity of approximately 

1.8 Bcf/d of natural gas. 

In support of the Liquefaction Plant, 

FLEX proposes to construct a natural 

gas Pretreatment Plant located about 2.5 

miles north of the existing Quintana 

Island terminal. The Pretreatment Plant 

would process the gas for liquefaction. 

In addition, FLEX proposed to construct 

several interconnecting pipelines and 

utility lines including a 5.0-mile-long, 

12-inch diameter boil-off gas (BOG) 

pipeline from the terminal to the 

Pretreatment Plant (referred together as 

the Pipeline/Utility LineSystem). The 

Liquefaction Plant, the Pretreatment 

Plant, and the Pipeline/Utility Line 

System, together with the associated 

appurtenant structures, are collectively 

referred to as the Liquefaction Project. 

The EIS Process 

In accordance with NEPA, FERC 

issued a draft Environmental Impact 

Statement (EIS) for the proposed 

Liquefaction Project and Phase II 

Modification Project on March 14, 2014. 

(79 FR 15,989). The draft EIS was 

mailed to stakeholders, including 

landowners, the cooperating agencies, 

and those who previously made 

comments during the NEPA scoping 

process. Issues raised by commenters 

included concerns regarding: air 

pollution (including air toxics, 

greenhouse gases, deposition impacts; 

and compliance with the National 

Ambient Air Quality Standards), safety 

and lack of an emergency response plan, 

construction traffic, noise and dust, lack 

of housing for construction workers, 

visual impacts, impacts on property 

values, water use and Freeport LNG’s 

source of water, land use impacts, 

ability to safely build the facility on 

dredge spoils, impacts on the historic 

Town of Quintana, expanding the scope 

of the cumulative impact analysis and 

alternatives analysis, recreational 

impacts, noxious odors, and the positive 

impacts from job creation. 

The final EIS, published on June 20, 

2014 (79 FR 35,345), recommended that 

FERC approve FLEX’s proposed 

Liquefaction Project and Phase II 

Modification Project subject to 83 

environmental conditions. On July 30, 

2014, FERC issued its Order granting 

FLEX’s requested authorization to 

modify previously authorized LNG 

facilities to facilitate the import and 

export of LNG at FLEX’s Quintana 

Island terminal and granted 

authorization to site, construct, and 

operate the proposed facilities, subject 


rmajette on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 224 / Thursday, November 20, 2014 / Notices 69103 

8 Freeport LNG Development, L.P., et al., Order 

Granting Authorization Under Section 3 of the 

Natural Gas Act, 148 FERC ¶ 61,076 (July 30, 2014) 

[FERC Order]. 

to the 83 environmental conditions 

contained in Appendix A of that order.8

In accordance with 40 CFR 1506.3, 

after an independent review of FERC’s 

final EIS, DOE adopted the EIS on 

October 3, 2014 (DOE/EIS–0487), and 

the U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency published a notice of that 

adoption in the Federal Register on 

October 10, 2014. (79 FR 61304). 

Addendum to Environmental Review 

Documents Concerning Exports of 

Natural Gas From the United States 

(Addendum) 

On June 4, 2014, DOE/FE published 

the Draft Addendum for public 

comment (79 FR 32258). Although not 

required by NEPA, DOE/FE prepared 

the Addendum in an effort to be 

responsive to the public and to provide 

the best information available on a 

subject that had been raised by 

commenters. The Addendum is a review 

of existing literature and was intended 

to provide information only on the 

resource areas potentially impacted by 

unconventional gas production. 

The 45-day comment period on the 

Draft Addendum closed on July 21, 

2014. DOE/FE received 40,745 

comments in 18 separate submissions, 

and considered those comments in 

issuing the Addendum on August 15, 

2014. DOE provided a summary of the 

comments received and responses to 

substantive comments in Appendix B of 

the Addendum. DOE/FE has 

incorporated the Draft Addendum, 

comments, and final Addendum into 

the record in its FLEX proceeding. 

Alternatives 

The EIS conducted an alternatives 

analysis for the Liquefaction Project and 

found no other practicable alternative 

that would result in less environmental 

impact that would still address the 

purpose and need of the Projects. 

Alternatives considered included the No 

Action Alternative, system alternatives, 

and site alternatives. With respect to the 

No Action Alternative, the EIS 

concluded that this alternative is not 

viable as FLEX would not be able to 

provide U.S. natural gas producers with 

new access to global gas suppliers and 

meet contractual obligations. 

For the Phase II Modification Project, 

the EIS determined that the location, 

design, and purpose is wholly 

dependent on the existing plant 

facilities and operations at the Quintana 

Island terminal; therefore, other 

geographically separate sites beyond the 

terminal were not evaluated and no 

system alternatives exist that could 

achieve the terminal’s operational 

flexibility and capabilities 

With respect to system alternatives for 

the Liquefaction Project, the EIS 

analyzed other proposed LNG export 

facilities on the West Coast, Gulf Coast, 

and East Coast of the United States and 

whether these could be considered 

system alternatives. In all cases the EIS 

found that these alternatives would not 

address the Liquefaction Project’s 

purpose and would not offer any 

significant environmental advantage. 

The EIS also considered the 

possibility of expanding the size of 

another proposed LNG export terminal 

to address FLEX’s desired export 

capacity. However, this alternative 

would involve further impacts such as: 

construction of additional liquefaction 

infrastructure plus the potential need 

for expanded docking facilities. Hence, 

the environmental impacts would not be 

significantly different than those that 

would occur as a result of the 

Liquefaction Project. 

Additionally, the EIS evaluated site 

alternatives for the components of the 

Liquefaction Project, but did not find 

any viable alternatives. Siting of the 

Liquefaction Plant was dictated by the 

need to be close to the existing 

offloading areas, LNG storage tanks, 

docking area, and other existing LNG 

infrastructure at the Quintana Island 

terminal. Moreover, the proposed siting 

makes maximum use of the available 

areas within the existing Quintana 

Island terminal. 

The EIS evaluated the feasibility of 

lowering the pad elevation of the 

Liquefaction Plant to determine whether 

this would lessen impacts on visibility, 

noise, safety, stormwater, and site 

engineering. However, the EIS 

determined that this would not provide 

substantial improvements in visibility 

and noise attenuation, and would result 

in significant geological safety, 

engineering, traffic and soil disposal 

issues. With respect to the siting of the 

Pretreatment Plant, the EIS assessed ten 

alternative sites, all of which were 

deemed unsuitable due to site 

constraints and environmental impacts, 

except for one site. However, based on 

comments from residents regarding the 

lack of a suitable evacuation route in 

case of emergency at the alternative site, 

and concerns about noise, air emissions, 

water discharges, materials storage, and 

flood protection, the EIS concludes that 

the proposed site is the preferred site. 

With respect to siting of the Pipeline/ 

Utility Line System, the main 

alternative siting criteria were the 

functional interdependency and 

geographic locations of the proposed 

process facilities (Liquefaction Plant 

and Pretreatment Plant), FLEX’s existing 

natural gas sendout pipeline, and the 

existing sendout pipeline meter station 

at Stratton Ridge. The Liquefaction 

Plant, Pretreatment Plant, and Stratton 

Ridge Meter Station represent fixed 

receipt or delivery points for the natural 

gas transported by the sendout pipeline 

and utilized in the liquefaction process. 

The existing sendout pipeline route 

constitutes the preferred route as it 

follows an existing right-of-way and 

minimizes environmental impacts. 

Environmentally Preferred Alternative 

When compared against the other 

action alternatives assessed in the EIS, 

as discussed above, the Liquefaction 

Project/Phase II Modification Project is 

the environmentally preferred 

alternative. While the No-Action 

Alternative would avoid the 

environmental impacts identified in the 

EIS, adoption of this alternative would 

not meet the project objectives. 

Decision 

DOE has decided to issue Order Nos. 

3282–C and 3357–B authorizing FLEX 

to export domestically produced LNG 

by vessel from the Freeport LNG 

Terminal on Quintana Island, Texas to 

non-FTA countries up to the equivalent 

of 1.8 Bcf/d of natural gas for a term of 

20 years. 

Concurrently with this Record of 

Decision, DOE is issuing Order Nos. 

3282–C and 3357–B in which it finds 

that the granting of the requested 

authorizations have not been shown to 

be inconsistent with the public interest, 

and that the applications should be 

granted subject to compliance with the 

terms and conditions set forth in Order 

Nos. 3282–C and 3357–B, including the 

environmental conditions adopted in 

the FERC Order at Appendix A. 

Additionally, the authorizations are 

conditioned on FLEX’s compliance with 

any other preventative and mitigative 

measures imposed by other Federal or 

state agencies. 

Basis of Decision 

DOE’s decision is based upon the 

analysis of potential environmental 

impacts presented in the EIS, and DOE’s 

determination in Order Nos. 3282–C 

and 3357–B that the opponents of the 

applications have failed to overcome the 

statutory presumption that the proposed 

export authorizations are not 

inconsistent with the public interest. 

Although not required by NEPA, DOE 

also considered the Addendum, which 

summarizes available information on 

potential upstream impacts associated 


rmajette on DSK2VPTVN1PROD with NOTICES
69104 Federal Register / Vol. 79, No. 224 / Thursday, November 20, 2014 / Notices 

with unconventional natural gas 

activities, such as hydraulic fracturing. 

Mitigation 

As a condition of its decision to issue 

Order Nos. 3282–C and 3357–B 

authorizing FLEX to export LNG to nonFTA countries, DOE is imposing 

requirements that will avoid or 

minimize the environmental impacts of 

the project. These conditions include 

the environmental conditions adopted 

in the FERC Order at Appendix A. 

Mitigation measures beyond those 

included in DOE Order Nos. 3282–C 

and 3357–B that are enforceable by 

other Federal and state agencies are 

additional conditions of Order Nos. 

3282–C and 3357–B. With these 

conditions, DOE has determined that all 

practicable means to avoid or minimize 

environmental harm from the project 

have been adopted. 

Floodplain Statement of Findings 

DOE prepared this Floodplain 

Statement of Findings in accordance 

with DOE’s regulations entitled 

‘‘Compliance with Floodplain and 

Wetland Environmental Review 

Requirements’’ (10 CFR part 1022). The 

required floodplain and wetland 

assessment was conducted during 

development and preparation of the EIS 

(see Sections 4.1.1.3 and 4.3.1.1 of the 

EIS). DOE determined that the 

placement of some project components 

within floodplains would be 

unavoidable. 

However, the current design for the 

project minimizes floodplain impacts to 

the extent practicable. 

Issued in Washington, DC on November 14, 

2014. 

Christopher A. Smith, 

Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office 

of Fossil Energy. 

[FR Doc. 2014–27486 Filed 11–19–14; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9919–54–OAR] 

California State Motor Vehicle 

Pollution Control Standards; 

Malfunction and Diagnostic System 

Requirements for 2010 and 

Subsequent Model Year Heavy-Duty 

Engines; Request for Waiver 

Determination; Opportunity for Public 

Hearing and Comment 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for public 

hearing and comment. 

SUMMARY: The California Air Resources 

Board (CARB) has notified EPA that it 

has adopted amendments to its 

‘‘Malfunction and Diagnostic System 

Requirements for 2010 and Subsequent 

Model Year Heavy-Duty Engines’’ 

regulation (HD OBD Requirements) and 

its ‘‘Enforcement of Malfunction and 

Diagnostic System Requirements for 

2010 and Subsequent Model-Year 

Heavy-Duty Engines’’ regulation (HD 

OBD Enforcement Regulation), 

collectively referred to herein as HD 

OBD Regulations. EPA previously 

granted California a waiver for its HD 

OBD Regulations as amended in 2010. 

CARB adopted further amendments to 

the HD OBD Regulations in 2013 (‘‘2013 

HD OBD amendments’’). By letter dated 

February 12, 2014, CARB requested that 

EPA confirm that the 2013 HD OBD 

amendments are within the scope of the 

previously granted waiver or, 

alternatively, that EPA grant a full 

waiver of preemption for the 

amendments. This notice announces 

that EPA has tentatively scheduled a 

public hearing to consider California’s 

request for waiver of the 2013 HD OBD 

amendments, and that EPA is 

additionally now accepting written 

comment on California’s request. 

DATES: EPA has tentatively scheduled a 

public hearing concerning CARB’s 

request on January 14, 2015 at 10 a.m. 

ET. EPA will hold a hearing only if any 

party notifies EPA by December 15, 

2014 to express interest in presenting 

the Agency with oral testimony. Parties 

that wish to present oral testimony at 

the public hearing should provide 

written notice to David Read at the 

email address noted below. If EPA 

receives a request for a public hearing, 

that hearing will be held at the William 

Jefferson Clinton Building (North), 

Room 5530 at 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. 

NW., Washington, DC 20460. If EPA 

does not receive a request for a public 

hearing, then EPA will not hold a 

hearing, and will instead consider 

CARB’s request based on written 

submissions to the docket. Any party 

may submit written comments until 

February 16, 2015. 

Any person who wishes to know 

whether a hearing will be held may call 

David Read at (734) 214–4367 on or 

after December 17, 2014. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OAR–2014–0699, by one of the 

following methods: 

• On-Line at http://

www.regulations.gov: Follow the OnLine Instructions for Submitting 

Comments. 

• Email: a-and-r-docket@epa.gov. 

• Fax: (202) 566–1741. 

• Mail: Air and Radiation Docket, 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2014– 

0699, U.S. Environmental Protection 

Agency, Mailcode: 6102T, 1200 

Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Washington, 

DC 20460. Please include a total of two 

copies. 

• Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, 

Public Reading Room, EPA West 

Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution 

Avenue NW., Washington, DC 20460. 

Such deliveries are only accepted 

during the Docket’s normal hours of 

operation, and special arrangements 

should be made for deliveries of boxed 

information. 

On-Line Instructions for Submitting 

Comments: Direct your comments to 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OAR–2014– 

0699. EPA’s policy is that all comments 

we receive will be included in the 

public docket without change and may 

be made available online at http://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided, unless 

the comment includes information 

claimed to be Confidential Business 

Information (CBI) or other information 

whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 

Do not submit information that you 

consider to be CBI or otherwise 

protected through http://

www.regulations.gov or email. The 

http://www.regulations.gov Web site is 

an ‘‘anonymous access’’ system, which 

means EPA will not know your identity 

or contact information unless you 

provide it in the body of your comment. 

If you send an email comment directly 

to EPA without going through http://

www.regulations.gov, your email 

address will automatically be captured 

and included as part of the comment 

that is placed in the public docket and 

made available on the Internet. If you 

submit an electronic comment, EPA 

recommends that you include your 

name and other contact information in 

the body of your comment and with any 

disk or CD–ROM you submit. 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. 

Electronic files should avoid the use of 

special characters, any form of 

encryption, and be free of any defects or 

viruses. For additional information 

about EPA’s public docket visit the EPA 

Docket Center homepage at http://

www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. 

EPA will make available for public 

inspection materials submitted by 

CARB, written comments received from 

any interested parties, and any 

testimony given at the public hearing. 

Materials relevant to this proceeding are 

contained in the Air and Radiation 


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