Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2012-0826-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Settlement Agreements: Clean Air Act Citizen Suit
Posted Date: 2012-11-14T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 220 (Wednesday, November 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67814-67815]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-27704]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9751-7]

Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed settlement agreement; 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 
settlement to address a lawsuit filed by Public Service Company of 
Oklahoma (``Plaintiff'') in the United States Appeals Court for the 
Tenth Circuit: Public Service Company of Oklahoma v. U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, et al., No. 12-9524. On February 24, 2011, Plaintiff 
timely filed a Petition for Review, challenging the issuance of EPA's 
final rule entitled, ``Approval and Promulgation of Implementation 
Plans; Oklahoma; Federal Implementation Plan for Interstate Transport 
of Pollution Affecting Visibility and Best Available Retrofit 
Technology Determinations,'' 76 FR 81,728 (Dec. 28, 2011) (the ``Final 
Rule''). The Final Rule partially approved and partially disapproved 
Oklahoma's state implementation plan (``SIP'') submitted under the 
``visibility'' and ``interstate transport'' provisions of the Clean Air 
Act (``CAA''). The Final Rule included a federal implementation plan 
(``FIP'') establishing Best Available Retrofit Technology (``BART'') 
emission limitations on sulfur dioxide (``SO2'') for Units 3 
and 4 of Plaintiff's Northeastern plant (``Plaintiff's Units'') to 
address the visibility and interstate transport provisions of the CAA. 
On March 26, 2012, Sierra Club (``Intervenor'') filed a timely motion 
to intervene. The motion was granted March 27, 2012. The proposed 
settlement agreement establishes a deadline for EPA to take action on a 
SIP to be drafted and submitted by Oklahoma addressing Plaintiff's 
Units.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be 
received by December 14, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2012-0826, online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method); 
by email to oei.docket@epa.gov; 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: Lea Anderson, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-5571; fax number (202) 564-5603; email address: 
anderson.lea@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement Agreement

    The proposed settlement agreement would resolve a lawsuit 
challenging the issuance of EPA's final rule partially approving and 
partially disapproving Oklahoma's SIP submitted under the 
``visibility'' and ``interstate transport'' provisions of the CAA, 42 
U.S.C. Sec.  7410, 7491, and 7492. The Final Rule included a FIP 
establishing BART emission limitations on SO2 for Units 3 
and 4 of Plaintiff's Northeastern plant to address the visibility and 
interstate

[[Page 67815]]

transport provisions of the CAA. Specifically, the proposed settlement 
agreement outlines the timeframe in which Oklahoma Department of 
Environmental Quality (``ODEQ'') develops and the Oklahoma Secretary of 
Environment submits to EPA for review SIP revisions containing specific 
elements as spelled out in Attachment A of the settlement agreement to 
address the ``visibility'' and ``interstate transport'' provisions of 
the CAA, 42 U.S.C. Sec.  7410, 7491, and 7492. In turn, the proposed 
settlement agreement establishes a deadline for EPA to take final 
action on Oklahoma's visibility and interstate transport SIP revisions 
addressing Plaintiff's units within six months from the date of EPA's 
determination that the revisions meet the requirements of the CAA 
consistent with 42 U.S.C. 7410(k)(1)(B). Because this Agreement 
requires ODEQ to develop and propose SIP revisions and the Oklahoma 
Secretary of Environment (``Secretary'') to submit these SIP revisions 
to EPA under the visibility and interstate transport provisions of the 
CAA, and because ODEQ and the Secretary prefer to regulate Plaintiff 
under such SIP revisions rather than EPA's FIP, ODEQ and the Secretary 
are parties to the settlement agreement as are the Plaintiff and the 
Intervenor. After EPA fulfills its obligations under the proposed 
settlement agreement, Plaintiff, Intervenor, and EPA will file a joint 
stipulation of dismissal of Plaintiff's Petition for Review.
    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 settlement agreement from persons who were 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 
settlement agreement 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 settlement 
agreement should be withdrawn, the terms of the proposed settlement 
agreement will be affirmed.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement 
Agreement

How can I get a copy of the settlement agreement?

    The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2012-0826) contains a copy of the proposed settlement 
agreement. 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.
    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 to 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.

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.

Lorie J. Schmidt,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2012-27704 Filed 11-13-12; 8:45 am]
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