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[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 228 (Tuesday, November 26, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 93287-93289]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-27604]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2024-0531; FRL-12402-01-OGC]

Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Water Act Claim

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed consent decree; request for public comment.

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[[Page 93288]]

SUMMARY: In accordance with the EPA Administrator's March 18, 2022, 
memorandum regarding ``Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements to 
resolve Environmental Claims Against the Agency,'' notice is hereby 
given of a proposed consent decree in Ecological Rights Foundation v. 
EPA, et.al., Docket No. 3:24-cv-03665 (N.D. Cal.). Environmental 
Advocates, on behalf of the Ecological Rights Foundation, filed a 
complaint on June 18, 2024 and an amended complaint on September 18, 
2024, in the United States District Court for the Northern District of 
California alleging the EPA failed to perform a non-discretionary duty 
under Clean Water Act (CWA) to either approve or disapprove revised 
water quality standards in California's amendments to the Water Quality 
Control Plan for the San Francisco Bay/Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta 
Estuary (``Bay-Delta Plan amendments'') within the statutory 
timeframes. The EPA seeks public input on a proposed consent decree 
prior to its final decision-making with regard to potential settlement 
of the litigation.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by December 26, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2024-0531 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, see the 
``Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent 
Decree'' heading under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eleanor Garretson, Water Law Office, 
Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 
telephone: (202) 495-8997; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    On August 26, 2019, California submitted the Bay-Delta Plan 
amendments to the EPA for review and approval of those portions of the 
submission that constitute new or revised water quality standards. On 
September 1, 2023, the EPA initiated consultation with the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service and is 
presently engaged in consultation on the EPA's potential action on new 
and revised water quality standards that EPA identifies in the Bay-
Delta Plan amendments.
    On April 16, 2024, Plaintiffs sent the EPA a notice of intent to 
sue (NOI) alleging that the EPA had failed to satisfy its mandatory 
duty under CWA section 303(c)(3) to either approve or disapprove 
revised water quality standards in California's amendments to the Bay-
Delta Plan within the statutory timeframes. The Plaintiffs filed a 
complaint on June 18, 2024 and an amended complaint on September 18, 
2024, seeking a declaratory judgment that the EPA violated the 
statutory deadlines and an order from the court requiring the Agency to 
take action to either approve or disapprove the new or revised water 
quality standards proposed as part of the Bay-Delta Plan amendments by 
a date certain.
    The parties initiated settlement discussions, which produced the 
proposed consent decree. Under the consent decree, if the EPA approves 
all of the new or revised water quality standards that the EPA 
identifies in the Bay-Delta Plan amendments, the EPA's action must be 
completed no later than 182 days from the date ESA consultation 
concludes. If the EPA disapproves in whole or any part of the new or 
revised water quality standards the EPA identifies in the Bay-Delta 
Plan amendments, the EPA's action shall be completed no later than 365 
days from the date ESA consultation concludes.
    For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication 
of this notice, the EPA will accept written comments relating to the 
proposed consent decree from persons who are not parties to the 
litigation. The EPA or the U.S. Department of Justice may withdraw or 
withhold consent to the proposed consent decree if the comments 
received disclose facts or considerations that indicate that such 
consent is inappropriate, improper, inadequate, or inconsistent with 
the requirements of the CWA.

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-2024-0531) 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.''

B. How and to whom do I submit comments?

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2024-
0531 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 
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.
    If you submit an electronic comment, the 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

[[Page 93289]]

comment and allows the EPA to contact you in case the 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 the EPA cannot read 
your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you for 
clarification, the EPA may not be able to consider your comment.
    Use of the https://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments 
to the EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving 
comments. The electronic public docket system is an ``anonymous 
access'' system, which means the 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 does not plan to consider these late 
comments.

Dawn Messier,
Acting Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2024-27604 Filed 11-25-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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