Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 175 / Tuesday, September 10, 2024 / Notices 73413 

Dated: September 4, 2024. 

Debbie-Anne A. Reese, 

Acting Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2024–20410 Filed 9–9–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6717–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OGC–2024–0394; FRL–12196–01– 

OGC] 

Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air 

Act Citizen Suit 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of proposed consent 

decree; request for public comment. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with section 

113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended 

(‘‘CAA’’ or ‘‘the Act’’), the 

Environmental Protection Agency 

(‘‘EPA’’ or ‘‘the Agency’’) is providing 

notice of a proposed consent decree in 

Louisiana Environmental Action 

Network, et al. v. Regan, No. 1:23–cv– 

2714–DLF (D.D.C). On December 7, 

2023, Plaintiffs Louisiana 

Environmental Action Network, People 

Concerned About Chemical Safety, and 

Sierra Club (collectively Plaintiffs) filed 

an amended complaint in the United 

States District Court for the District of 

Columbia. Plaintiffs alleged that: EPA 

failed to perform certain nondiscretionary duties in accordance with 

the Act to ‘‘review, and revise as 

necessary’’ the National Emission 

Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants 

(‘‘NESHAP’’) for the Polyether Polyols 

Production source category, at least 

every eight years; and EPA’s failure to 

timely issue a new final rule or other 

final action on the 2014 petition for 

reconsideration (the Reconsideration 

Petition) submitted by Louisiana 

Environmental Action Network and 

Sierra Club for the NESHAP as 

promulgated in 2014. The proposed 

consent decree would establish 

deadlines for EPA to take actions. 

DATES: Written comments on the 

proposed consent decree must be 

received by October 10, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OGC–2024–0394, online at https://

www.regulations.gov (EPA’s preferred 

method). Follow the online instructions 

for submitting comments. 

Instructions: All submissions received 

must include the Docket ID number for 

this action. Comments received may be 

posted without change to https://

www.regulations.gov, including any 

personal information provided. For 

detailed instructions on sending 

comments and additional information 

on the rulemaking process, see the 

‘‘Additional Information about 

Commenting on the Proposed Consent 

Decree’’ heading under the 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 

this document. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Michael Thrift, Air and Radiation Law 

Office, Office of General Counsel, U.S. 

Environmental Protection Agency; 

telephone: (202) 564–8852; email 

address: thrift.mike@epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Obtaining a Copy of the Proposed 

Consent Decree 

The official public docket for this 

action (identified by Docket ID No. 

EPA–HQ–OGC–2024–0394) 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. 

The electronic version of the public 

docket for this action contains a copy of 

the proposed consent decree, and is 

available through https://

www.regulations.gov. You may use 

https://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.’’ 

II. Additional Information About the 

Proposed Consent Decree 

Plaintiffs filed a complaint in the 

United States District Court for the 

District of Columbia alleging (i) that 

EPA failed to perform certain nondiscretionary duties in accordance with 

the Clean Air Act under section 

112(d)(6) to the NESHAP for the 

Polyether Polyols Production source 

category, 40 CFR part 63, subpart PPP, 

at least every eight years; and (ii) that 

EPA’s failure to issue a new final rule 

or other final action on the 2014 petition 

for reconsideration (the Reconsideration 

Petition) submitted by Louisiana 

Environmental Action Network and 

Sierra Club for the NESHAP as 

promulgated in 2014, 79 FR 17340 

(March 27, 2014), constitutes ‘‘agency 

action unreasonably delayed’’ under 

Clean Air Act section 304(a). 

The EPA solicits public comments on 

a proposed consent decree that would 

establish deadlines for EPA to take 

proposed and final actions pursuant to 

Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) section 

112(d)(6). Specifically, the consent 

decree would require by December 10, 

2024, that EPA sign a final rule taking 

action on reconsideration of the 

affirmative defense provisions related to 

the 2014 national emission standards for 

hazardous air pollutants (NESHAP) for 

the Polyether Polyols Production source 

category, 40 CFR part 63, subpart PPP. 

In addition, the consent decree would 

require by December 10, 2024, that EPA 

sign a notice of proposed rulemaking on 

its review of the NESHAP for the 

Polyether Polyols Production source 

category, 40 CFR part 63, subpart PPP, 

including all ‘‘necessary’’ revisions 

(taking into account developments in 

practices, processes, and control 

technologies) to subpart PPP and to 

reconsider other aspects of the 2014 

NESHAP subpart PPP. Finally, the 

consent decree would require by 

December 10, 2025, that EPA sign a final 

rule for these proposed actions. 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. 

The 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. 

III. Additional Information About 

Commenting on the Proposed Consent 

Decree 

Submit your comments, identified by 

Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–OGC–2024– 

0394, via https://www.regulations.gov. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from this docket. The 

EPA may publish any comment received 

to its public docket. Do not submit to 

EPA’s docket at https://

www.regulations.gov 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 


khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
73414 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 175 / Tuesday, September 10, 2024 / Notices 

1Under Clean Air Act section 302(h), welfare 

effects include, but are not limited to, ‘‘effects on 

soils, water, crops, vegetation, manmade materials, 

animals, wildlife, weather, visibility, and climate, 

damage to and deterioration of property, and 

hazards to transportation, as well as effects on 

economic values and on personal comfort and wellbeing.’’ 

contents located outside of the primary 

submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or 

other file sharing system). For 

additional submission methods, the full 

EPA public comment policy, 

information about CBI or multimedia 

submissions, and general guidance on 

making effective comments, please visit 

https://www.epa.gov/dockets/ 

commenting-epa-dockets. For additional 

information about submitting 

information identified as CBI, please 

contact the person listed in the FOR

FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 

this document. Note that written 

comments containing CBI and 

submitted by mail may be delayed and 

deliveries or couriers will be received 

by scheduled appointment only. 

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 https://www.regulations.

gov website 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. 

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.’’ The EPA is not required 

to consider these late comments. 

Gautam Srinivasan, 

Associate General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2024–20386 Filed 9–9–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–ORD–2022–0831; FRL–12235–01– 

ORD] 

2024 Workshops To Obtain Input on 

Initial Draft Materials for the Integrated 

Science Assessment (ISA) for Oxides 

of Nitrogen—Health Criteria 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of workshop. 

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA) is preparing an Integrated 

Science Assessment (ISA) as part of the 

review of the primary (health-based) 

National Ambient Air Quality Standards 

(NAAQS) for oxides of nitrogen. As part 

of this review, EPA is announcing a 

series of public workshops to evaluate 

preliminary draft materials that will 

inform the development of the ISA for 

oxides of nitrogen. Preliminary 

materials are not being released 

externally but will be provided to the 

panelists to guide discussions that will 

inform the development of the draft ISA 

for oxides of nitrogen. The workshops 

are being organized by EPA’s Center for 

Public Health and Environmental 

Assessment (CPHEA) within the Office 

of Research and Development and will 

be held by webinar and teleconference 

on October 8, October 30, and October 

31. Members of the public may attend 

the webinars as observers. Space in the 

teleconferences may be limited, and 

reservations will be accepted on a firstcome, first-served basis. 

DATES: The workshops will be held on 

October 8, October 30, and October 31. 

ADDRESSES: The workshops will be held 

by webinar and teleconference. The 

website information and call-in number 

for the webinars are available to 

registered participants. Please register 

by going to https://www.eventbrite.com/ 

o/us-epa-81991238023. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Please direct questions regarding 

workshops registration or logistics to 

Lindsey Green; telephone: 571–459– 

4084; or email: EPA-Workshops@

icf.com. For technical information, prior 

to the workshops, contact David 

Lehmann; telephone: 919–541–0234; or 

email: Lehmann.David@epa.gov and 

Alison Krajewski; telephone: 919–541– 

7688; or email: Krajewski.Alison@

epa.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Information About the Workshop 

Section 108(a) of the Clean Air Act 

directs the Administrator to identify 

certain air pollutants which, among 

other things, ‘‘cause or contribute to air 

pollution which may reasonably be 

anticipated to endanger public health or 

welfare’’; 1 and to issue air quality 

criteria for them. These air quality 

criteria are to ‘‘accurately reflect the 

latest scientific knowledge useful in 

indicating the kind and extent of all 

identifiable effects on public health or 

welfare which may be expected from the 

presence of [a] pollutant in the ambient 

air. . . .’’. Under section 109 of the Act, 

EPA is then to establish NAAQS for 

each pollutant for which EPA has issued 

criteria. Section 109(d)(1) of the Act 

subsequently requires periodic review 

and, if appropriate, revision of existing 

air quality criteria to reflect advances in 

scientific knowledge on the effects of 

the pollutant on public health or 

welfare. EPA is also required to review 

and, if appropriate, revise the NAAQS, 

based on the revised air quality criteria 

(for more information on the NAAQS 

review process, see https://www.epa.

gov/naaqs). 

EPA has established NAAQS for six 

criteria pollutants including oxides of 

nitrogen. Periodically, EPA reviews the 

scientific basis for these standards by 

preparing an ISA. In conjunction with 

additional technical and policy 

assessments conducted by EPA’s Office 

of Air Quality Planning and Standards 

(OAQPS), the ISA provides the 

scientific and technical basis for EPA 

decisions on the adequacy of the current 

NAAQS and the appropriateness of 

possible alternative standards. 

CPHEA is holding a series of 

workshops to inform the Agency’s 

evaluation of the scientific evidence for 

the oxides of nitrogen. The purpose of 

these workshops is to obtain input on 

the scientific content of preliminary 

draft materials that will inform the 

development of the draft ISA. Workshop 

sessions will include discussion of 

preliminary draft materials from subject 

areas which may include exposure 

assessment, toxicology, epidemiology, 

air quality/exposure, and fate and 

transport. These preliminary materials 

are not being released as an external 

draft but will be provided to the 

panelists to guide discussions and 

inform the development of the draft ISA 

for Oxides of Nitrogen—Health Criteria. 

These workshops are planned to help 

ensure that the ISA, once developed, is 

up-to-date and focuses on the key 


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