10196 Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 23, 2022 / Notices 

5The Clean Water Act requires that each permit, 

order, or decree for a discharge from a municipal 

combined storm and sanitary sewer conform to the 

CSO Policy. 33 U.S.C. 1342(q). The CSO Policy lists 

the following considerations for financial 

capability: Median household income; total annual 

wastewater and CSO control costs per household as 

a percent of median household income; overall net 

debt as a percent of full market property value; 

property tax revenues as a percent of full market 

property value; property tax collection rate; 

unemployment; and bond rating. See 59 FR 18688, 

18694 (April 19, 1994). 

6These electronic spreadsheet tools for the public 

sector, available at https://www.epa.gov/wqs-tech/ 

spreadsheet-tools-evaluate-economic-impactspublic-sector, encompass the data inputs and 

calculations of the 1995 Interim Economic 

Guidance for Water Quality Standards. 

3. Modification of Scheduling 

Benchmarks 

The Proposed 2020 FCA provided that 

communities with ‘‘medium’’ FCA 

impacts could qualify for compliance 

schedules of up to 15 years and ‘‘high’’ 

impact communities could receive 

compliance schedules up to 25 years, or 

as long as the useful life of the CSO 

controls for unusually high impacts. For 

users of the Proposed 2022 FCA, it is 

more transparent and consistent to 

define a recommended scheduling 

boundary rather than retain the ‘‘useful 

life’’ language. It is important to 

consider human health and 

environmental impacts as well as cost 

when considering extended schedules. 

EPA is also mindful that prolonging 

water quality impairments could 

exacerbate environmental justice 

concerns. EPA believes that, for 

unusually high impacts, 25 years is a 

reasonable recommended scheduling 

benchmark that is more consistent with 

environmental protection and the 

Agency’s past FCA practice. 

EPA proposes to revise the FCA 

guidance to keep 15 years as the outer 

recommended boundary for ‘‘medium’’ 

impact communities and change the 

benchmark for ‘‘high’’ impact 

communities to 20 years, or up to 25 

years for unusually high impacts, but is 

seeking comment on whether these are 

appropriate recommended scheduling 

boundaries. 

III. Overview of the Proposed 2022 FCA 

Guidance 

The 2022 FCA Guidance recommends 

two alternative approaches for assessing 

a community’s financial capability to 

carry out CWA control measures. The 

first alternative is the existing 1997 FCA 

methodology with expanded 

consideration of poverty and impacts on 

the population in the service area with 

incomes in the lowest quintile. EPA is 

retaining the 1997 Residential Indicator 

(i.e., 2% of MHI) and the Financial 

Capability Indicator because they 

measure factors required under the 

Clean Water Act by the CSO Policy as 

part of a financial capability 

assessment.5 These indicators also allow 

for consistent comparative analysis 

among communities. The new critical 

metric, the Lowest Quintile Poverty 

Indicator (LQPI), allows the Agency to 

assess severity and prevalence of 

poverty. The second alternative is the 

development of a dynamic financial and 

rate model that looks at the impacts of 

rate increases over time on utility 

customers. 

Both alternatives permit consideration 

of other metrics and may support an 

extended implementation schedule. 

Nonetheless, EPA does not anticipate 

establishing implementation schedules 

that would exceed 20 years, or up to 25 

years for communities that demonstrate 

unusually high impacts. The Proposed 

2022 FCA can help to ensure that local 

challenges related to low-income 

households are better reflected in CWA 

implementation schedules. Consistent 

with previous policy, EPA plans to 

consider any relevant financial or 

demographic information presented that 

illustrates the unique or atypical 

circumstances faced by a community. 

The Proposed 2022 FCA is available at: 

https://www.regulations.gov/, Docket ID 

No. EPA–HQ–OW–2020–0426. 

Additionally, EPA recommends 

application of the methodologies from 

the Proposed 2022 FCA to the 

consideration of economic impacts to 

public entities for supporting revisions 

to designated uses, WQS variances, and 

antidegradation reviews for WQS. EPA 

intends that the recommended 

expanded matrix for WQS decisions in 

the Proposed 2022 FCA, once finalized, 

along with the electronic spreadsheet 

tools for the public sector,6 would 

replace the worksheets and calculations 

for the public sector sections of the 1995 

Interim Economic Guidance for Water 

Quality Standards. The Proposed 2022 

FCA does not revise the recommended 

methodology in the private sector 

sections of the 1995 WQS Guidance. 

IV. Request for Public Comments 

EPA requests public comment on the 

Proposed 2022 FCA. Specifically, EPA 

is requesting comment on the following: 

1. Should the Final 2022 FCA incorporate 

a single new metric—LQPI—that considers 

lowest quintile income and poverty elements 

together? Or should the Final 2022 FCA 

incorporate two new metrics (a lowest 

quintile income indicator and a poverty 

indicator) to be calculated separately and 

combined in a matrix? 

2. EPA is seeking additional examples or 

case studies of funding and financing 

considerations to add to Appendix C. 

3. EPA is seeking feedback on the current 

proposed scheduling benchmarks of 20 years 

for ‘‘high’’ Expanded FCA Matrix impacts, or 

25 years for unusually high impacts. If 

commentors propose different benchmarks, 

EPA is requesting examples to support the 

basis for such benchmarks. 

Dated: February 10, 2022. 

Andrew D. Sawyers, 

Director, Office of Wastewater Management, 

Office of Water. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03738 Filed 2–22–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[EPA–HQ–OGC–2022–0200; FRL–9575–01– 

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 the Clean 

Air Act, as amended (CAA or the Act), 

notice is given of a proposed consent 

decree in Growth Energy v. Regan 

(D.D.C. No. 1:22–cv–00347). On 

February 8, 2022, Plaintiff Growth 

Energy filed a complaint in the United 

States District Court for the District of 

Columbia alleging that the 

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA 

or the Agency) failed to perform nondiscretionary duties in accordance with 

the Act to establish renewable fuel 

standards for calendar years 2021 and 

2022. The proposed consent decree 

would establish deadlines for EPA to 

establish the 2021 and 2022 renewable 

fuel standards by June 3, 2022. 

DATES: Written comments on the 

proposed consent decree must be 

received by March 25, 2022. 

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, 

identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ– 

OGC–2022–0200, 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. Out of an abundance of 


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Federal Register / Vol. 87, No. 36 / Wednesday, February 23, 2022 / Notices 10197 

caution for members of the public and 

our staff, the EPA Docket Center and 

Reading Room are closed to the public, 

with limited exceptions, to reduce the 

risk of transmitting COVID–19. Our 

Docket Center staff will continue to 

provide remote customer service via 

email, phone, and webform. We 

encourage the public to submit 

comments via https://

www.regulations.gov, as there may be a 

delay in processing mail and faxes. 

Hand-deliveries and couriers may be 

received by scheduled appointment 

only. For further information on EPA 

Docket Center services and the current 

status, please visit us online at https:// 

www.epa.gov/dockets. 

EPA continues to carefully and 

continuously monitor information from 

the CDC, local area health departments, 

and our federal partners so that we can 

respond rapidly as conditions change 

regarding COVID–19. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Ryland Shengzhi Li, Air and Radiation 

Law Office (mail code), Office of 

General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania 

Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; 

telephone (202) 564–6787; email 

address li.ryland@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–2022–0200) contains a 

copy of the proposed consent decree. 

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 

The proposed consent decree would 

establish a June 3, 2022, deadline for 

EPA to establish the 2021 and 2022 

renewable fuel standards (also known as 

renewable fuel obligations). EPA is 

obligated to establish the renewable fuel 

standards under 42 U.S.C. 

7545(o)(3)(B)(i). The Agency was 

statutorily obligated to establish the 

2021 renewable fuel standards by 

November 30, 2020, and to establish the 

2022 renewable fuel standards by 

November 30, 2021. EPA proposed the 

renewable fuel standards for 2021 and 

2022 on December 7, 2021. See 86 FR 

72436 (published December 21, 2021). 

Under the proposed consent decree, 

EPA must sign the final rule 

establishing the 2021 and 2022 

renewable fuel standards by June 3, 

2022. 

The same rule proposing the 2021 and 

2022 renewable fuel standards also 

proposed to revise the 2020 renewable 

fuel standards, which EPA had 

previously finalized in a separate 

rulemaking. 85 FR 7016 (February 6, 

2020) (‘‘2020 Rule’’). Growth Energy and 

other parties have challenged the 2020 

Rule in the D.C. Circuit. Growth Energy 

v. EPA, No. 20–1113 (D.C. Cir.) 

(consolidated under lead case RFS 

Power Coalition v. EPA, No. 20–1046 

(D.C. Cir.)). 

In accordance with section 113(g) of 

the CAA, for a period of thirty (30) days 

following the date of publication of this 

document, the Agency will accept 

written comments relating to the 

proposed consent decree. 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–2022– 

0200, via https://www.regulations.gov. 

Once submitted, comments cannot be 

edited or removed from this docket. 

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. 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-epadockets. 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.’’ EPA is not required to 

consider these late comments. 

Gautam Srinivasan, 

Associate General Counsel. 

[FR Doc. 2022–03826 Filed 2–22–22; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6560–50–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

[FRL–9446–01–OMS] 

Privacy Act of 1974; System of 

Records 

AGENCY: Office of Mission Support 

(OMS), Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Notice of a modified system of 

records. 

SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental 

Protection Agency’s (EPA or Agency), 


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