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[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 24 (Thursday, February 5, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6513-6515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02269]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

Proposed Partial Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of proposed partial 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 
partial consent decree to address a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club in 
the United States District Court for the Northern District of 
California: Sierra Club v. McCarthy, Civil Action No. 4:14-cv-3198-JSW 
(N.D. Cal.). On July 15, 2014, Plaintiff filed a complaint and on 
December 10, 2014, Plaintiff filed a first amended complaint. Plaintiff 
alleged that Gina McCarthy, in her official capacity as Administrator 
of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA''), failed 
to: (a) Perform a mandatory duty to find that Tennessee failed to 
submit a state implementation plan (``SIP'') element for the 2008 ozone 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard (``NAAQS''); and (b) take timely 
final action to approve or disapprove, in whole or in part, certain 
2008 ozone NAAQS SIP elements from named states. The proposed consent 
decree would establish deadlines for EPA to take some of these actions.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed partial consent decree must be 
received by March 9, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2015-0069, online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method); 
by email to [email protected]; 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: Karen Bianco, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202)

[[Page 6514]]

564-3298; fax number: (202) 564-5603; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Partial Consent Decree

    The proposed partial consent decree would resolve a lawsuit filed 
by the Sierra Club seeking to compel the Administrator to take actions 
under CAA sections 110(k)(1)-(4). Under the terms of the proposed 
partial consent decree, EPA would agree to sign a notice of final 
rulemaking to approve, disapprove, conditionally approve, or approve in 
part and disapprove in part, certain plans pursuant to sections 
110(k)(2)-(4) of the CAA no later than the date indicated below for the 
following states and elements of section 110(a)(2) for the 2008 ozone 
NAAQS:

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                  State                                 SIP Element(s)                           Date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a. Alabama..............................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M)   October 31, 2015.
                                           (excluding prong 4).
b. Alabama..............................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) (prong 4).............  May 31, 2016.
c. Arizona..............................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M)   June 30, 2015.
                                           (excluding prong 4).
d. Arizona..............................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (prongs 1 and 2) and     June 7, 2016.
                                           (II) (prong 4).
e. Colorado.............................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M).  October 31, 2015.
f. Colorado.............................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (prongs 1 and 2).......  January 29, 2016.
g. Connecticut..........................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M).  December 31, 2015.
h. Georgia..............................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M)   October 31, 2015.
                                           (excluding prong 4).
i. Georgia..............................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) (prong 4).............  May 31, 2016.
j. Idaho................................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (prongs 1 and 2).......  January 29, 2016.
k. Illinois.............................  110(a)(2)(A)..............................  May 30, 2015.
l. Illinois.............................  110(a)(2)(E)(ii) and (J) (visibility        August 31, 2015.
                                           portion).
m. Indiana..............................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M)   May 31, 2015.
                                           (excluding prong 4 and (J) (visibility
                                           portion)).
n. Indiana..............................  110(a)(2)(J) (visibility portion).........  August 31, 2015.
o. Indiana..............................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (prongs 1 and 2) and     June 7, 2016.
                                           (D)(i)(II) (prong 4).
p. Iowa.................................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M).  September 30, 2016.
q. Kansas...............................  110(a)(2)(J) (visibility portion).........  November 30, 2015.
r. Maryland.............................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (prongs 1 and 2).......  January 29, 2016.
s. Mississippi..........................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M)   October 31, 2015.
                                           (excluding prong 4).
t. Mississippi..........................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) (prong 4).............  May 31, 2016.
u. Montana..............................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M).  March 31, 2016.
v. Nebraska.............................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M).  September 30, 2015.
w. Nebraska.............................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (prongs 1 and 2).......  January 29, 2016.
x. New Hampshire........................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M).  December 31, 2015.
y. North Carolina.......................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(ii)-(H), (J)-(M)      October 31, 2015.
                                           (excluding 110(a)(2)(C) (PSD portion),
                                           E(ii), and (J) (PSD portion)).
z. North Carolina.......................  110(a)(2)(C) (PSD portion), (D)(i)(II)      May 31, 2016.
                                           (prongs 3 and 4), (E)(ii), and (J) (PSD
                                           portion).
aa. North Dakota........................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M)   December 17, 2015.
                                           (excluding prong 4).
bb. North Dakota........................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (prongs 1 and 2) and     January 29, 2016.
                                           (II) (prong 4).
cc. Ohio................................  110(a)(2)(C) (PSD portion), (D)(i)(II)      March 31, 2015.
                                           (prong 3), and (J) (PSD portion).
dd. Ohio................................  110(a)(2)(J) (visibility portion).........  August 31, 2015.
ee. Ohio................................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (prongs 1 and 2) and     June 7, 2016.
                                           (II) (prong 4).
ff. Oregon..............................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (prongs 1 and 2).......  January 29, 2016.
gg. Rhode Island........................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M).  December 31, 2015.
hh. South Carolina......................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M)   October 31, 2015.
                                           (excluding prong 4).
ii. South Carolina......................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) (prong 4).............  May 31, 2016.
jj. Texas...............................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M)   August 31, 2016.
                                           (excluding prong 4).
kk. Texas...............................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) (prong 4).............  September 4, 2015.
ll. Texas...............................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (prongs 1 and 2).......  June 7, 2016.
mm. West Virginia.......................  110(a)(2)(E)(ii)..........................  May 31, 2015.
nn. Utah................................  110(a)(2)(A)-(C), (D)(i)(II)-(H), (J)-(M)   June 30, 2016.
                                           (excluding prong 4).
oo. Utah................................  110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (prongs 1 and 2) and     June 7, 2016.
                                           (II) (prong 4).
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    If any State withdraws an above-listed submittal, then EPA's 
obligation to take the required action with respect to that submittal 
is automatically terminated.
    Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, EPA will send 
notice of each action to the Office of the Federal Register for review 
and publication within 15 days of signature. In addition, the proposed 
consent decree outlines the procedure for the Plaintiff to request 
costs of litigation, including attorney fees.
    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 partial consent decree from persons who are 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 
partial 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 that consent to this partial consent 
decree should be withdrawn, the terms of the partial consent decree 
will be affirmed.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Partial 
Consent Decree

A. How can I get a copy of the consent decree?

    The official public docket for this action (identified by EPA-HQ-
OGC-2015-0069) contains a copy of the proposed partial 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

[[Page 6515]]

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 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''.
    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 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: January 27, 2015.
Lorie J. Schmidt,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2015-02269 Filed 2-4-15; 8:45 am]
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