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[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 21, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7133-7135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01382]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2025-0019; FRL-12555-01-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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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (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 
Delaware Riverkeeper Network et al. v. U.S. EPA et al., Docket No. 
2:24-cv-05308 (E.D. Pa.). On October 2, 2024, Delaware Riverkeeper 
Network and Maya K. van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, filed a 
complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District 
of Pennsylvania. The complaint alleges that: the EPA failed to comply 
with its mandatory duty under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to promulgate 
revised water quality standards to protect aquatic life in the Delaware 
River within 90 days of proposal; and the EPA's failure to promulgate 
revised water quality standards is an unreasonable delay under the 
Administrative Procedure Act. 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 February 20, 2025

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2025-0019 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: Katie Spidalieri, Water Law Office, 
Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 
telephone: (202) 564-4138; email address: [email protected].

[[Page 7134]]

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    While states have the primary responsibility for reviewing, 
establishing, and revising water quality standards for their waters, 
CWA section 303(c) directs the EPA to promulgate water quality 
standards where the EPA Administrator determines that a new or revised 
standard is necessary to meet the requirements of the CWA. CWA section 
303(c)(4)(B). Such a determination is referred to as an 
``Administrator's Determination.''
    On December 1, 2022, the EPA issued an Administrator's 
Determination for part of the Delaware River in Delaware, New Jersey, 
and Pennsylvania pursuant to CWA section 303(c)(4)(B).\1\ The EPA 
determined that two types of revised water quality standards are 
necessary to meet the requirements of the CWA in the Delaware River: 
(1) revised aquatic life designated uses that provide for propagation 
of fish; and (2) corresponding dissolved oxygen criteria that protect 
the propagation use.
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    \1\ The Delaware River is co-managed by multiple states, 
including Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as well as the 
Delaware River Basin Commission.
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    On December 21, 2023, the EPA proposed revised water quality 
standards for an approximately 38-mile stretch of the Delaware River 
from river miles 108.4 to 70.0. 88 FR 88315 (December 21, 2023). 
Specifically, the EPA proposed a designated use of protection and 
propagation of resident and migratory aquatic life along with dissolved 
oxygen criteria to protect that use.
    On August 2, 2024, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and the 
Delaware Riverkeeper (collectively, Plaintiffs) sent the EPA a 60-day 
Notice of Intent to Sue pursuant to CWA section 505(b)(2) alleging the 
agency failed to promulgate revised water quality standards for a 
stretch of the Delaware River within 90 days of proposing them as 
required under CWA section 303(c)(4). On October 2, 2024, the 
Plaintiffs filed a complaint against the EPA in the U.S. District Court 
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Plaintiffs are seeking a 
declaratory judgement that the EPA violated the CWA and the 
Administrative Procedure Act by not promulgating revised water quality 
standards for the Delaware River within the statutory timeframe at CWA 
section 303(c)(4) and an injunction requiring the agency to promulgate 
such standards by a date certain.
    The parties initiated settlement discussions, which produced the 
proposed consent decree.\2\ Under the proposed consent decree, the EPA 
Administrator would be required to sign a final rule promulgating 
revised water quality standards for miles 108.4 to 70.0 of the Delaware 
River on or before June 30, 2025. In addition, the EPA would be 
required to file status reports with the court every thirty days after 
a consent decree is entered until the final rule is signed.
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    \2\ In the litigation, the EPA filed an answer to the 
Plaintiffs' complaint on December 9, 2024.
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    For a period of thirty 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 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-2025-0019) 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-2025-
0019 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 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

[[Page 7135]]

marked ``late.'' The EPA does not plan to consider these late comments.

Dawn Messier,
Acting Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2025-01382 Filed 1-17-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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