Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2008-0471-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit
Posted Date: 2008-07-03T04:00Z

[Federal Register: July 3, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 129)]
[Notices]               
[Page 38205-38207]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03jy08-52]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8687-7]

 
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 (``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a 
proposed settlement agreement to address a lawsuit filed by the 
National Environmental Development Association's Clean Air Project in 
the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia: 
National Environmental Development Association's Clean Air Project v. 
EPA, No. 06-1428 (D.C. Cir.). Petitioner filed a petition for review 
challenging EPA's notice entitled ``Recent Posting to the Applicability 
Determination Index (ADI) of Agency Applicability Determinations, 
Alternative Monitoring Decisions, and Regulatory Interpretations 
Pertaining to Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and 
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, and the 
Stratospheric Protection Program,'' 71 FR 70383 (December 4, 2006). 
Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, EPA agrees that 
in the first ADI Posting Notice signed after the settlement agreement 
becomes final, EPA will use specific language as set forth in the 
settlement agreement. In addition, no later than 30 days after the 
settlement agreement becomes final, EPA will provide a new search 
capability for users of the ADI.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be 
received by August 4, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2008-0471, online at http://www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred 
method); by e-mail to oei.docket@epa.gov; mailed to EPA Docket Center, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania 
Ave., NW.,

[[Page 38206]]

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: Diane McConkey, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-5588; fax number (202) 564-5603; e-mail address: 
mcconkey.diane@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement

    Petitioner raised issues concerning the December 4, 2006, Federal 
Register notice entitled ``Recent Posting to the Applicability 
Determination Index (ADI) of Agency Applicability Determinations, 
Alternative Monitoring Decisions, and Regulatory Interpretations 
Pertaining to Standards of Performance for New Stationary Sources and 
National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants, and the 
Stratospheric Protection Program,'' 71 FR 70383 (December 4, 2006). EPA 
maintains a computerized database, known as the Applicability 
Determination Index (``ADI''), which is a compilation of applicability 
determinations, alternative monitoring decisions, and regulatory 
interpretations pertaining to standards of performance for new 
stationary sources, national emission standards for hazardous air 
pollutants, and the stratospheric protection program. From time to 
time, EPA publishes in the Federal Register notices of recent postings 
to the ADI (``ADI Posting Notices''), similar to the notice at issue in 
this petition for review.
    The settlement agreement provides that in the first ADI Posting 
Notice signed after this settlement agreement is final and effective, 
EPA will not use the expressions ``broadly termed applicability 
determinations,'' ``broadly termed alternative monitoring decisions,'' 
or ``broadly termed regulatory interpretations,'' but will instead use 
the following expressions, as needed: ``commonly referred to as 
applicability determinations,'' ``commonly referred to as alternative 
monitoring decisions,'' and ``commonly referred to as regulatory 
interpretations.'' In addition, EPA will include the following 
language: ``This notice does not change the status of any document with 
respect to whether it is `of nationwide scope and effect' for purposes 
of section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act. For example, this notice 
does not make an applicability determination for a particular source 
into a nationwide rule. Neither does it purport to make any document 
that was previously non-binding into a binding document.'' The 
settlement agreement further states that no later than 30 days after 
the date the agreement becomes final, EPA will provide a new search 
capability for users of the ADI, such that users have the option of 
performing a search limited to the documents contained in a single ADI 
Posting Notice. If EPA complies with the terms of the settlement 
agreement, Petitioner shall file for dismissal of the petition for 
review with prejudice in accordance with Rule 42(b) of the Federal 
Rules of Appellate Procedures.
    For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication 
of this notice, the Agency will receive 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, based on any comment which may be 
submitted, that consent to the settlement agreement should be 
withdrawn, the terms of the agreement will be affirmed.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement 
Agreement

A. How Can I Get A Copy of the Settlement Agreement?

    Direct your comments to the official public docket for this action 
under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2008-0471 which contains a copy of the 
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 
http://www.regulations.gov. You may use http://www.regulations.gov to 
view the settlement agreement, 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, select ``search,'' then key in the 
appropriate docket identification number.
    It is important to note that EPA's policy is that public comments, 
whether submitted electronically or on paper, will be made available 
for public viewing online at http://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 are 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 e-mail 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,

[[Page 38207]]

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  http://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, e-mail 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 
(e-mail) system is not an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an 
e-mail comment directly to the Docket without going through http://
www.regulations.gov, your e-mail 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: June 26, 2008.
Richard B. Ossias,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E8-15157 Filed 7-2-08; 8:45 am]

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