Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2018-0767-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Settlement Agreement: Challenge to Clean Air Act State Implementation Plan (SIP) Action
Posted Date: 2019-06-24T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 121 (Monday, June 24, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 29514-29515]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-13400]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2018-0767; FRL-9995-53-OGC]

Proposed Settlement Agreement, Challenge to Clean Air Act SIP 
Action

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 agreement to resolve a case filed by ArcelorMittal Burns 
Harbor, L.L.C. (``ArcelorMittal''), involving an EPA action on a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Indiana. 
On February 25, 2014, ArcelorMittal filed a petition with the United 
States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit challenging EPA's 
disapproval of Indiana's SIP revision which would have removed the 
emissions limit for SO2 from the blast furnace gas flare at 
ArcelorMittal's steel mill in Porter County, Indiana. ArcelorMittal 
Burns Harbor LLC v. EPA (14-1412, 7th Cir.). Under the proposed 
settlement agreement, the parties agree to take certain specified 
actions.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be 
received by July 24, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2018-0767, online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method). 
For comments submitted at www.regulations.gov, follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from www.regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any 
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically 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, please contact 
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. 
For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or 
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective 
comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mike Thrift, Air and Radiation Law 
Office, Office of General Counsel, c/o U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, San Diego Border Office, 610 West Ash Street, San Diego, CA 
92101; telephone: (619) 321-1960; email address: thrift.mike@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement Agreement

    The proposed settlement agreement would resolve the case filed by 
ArcelorMittal challenging EPA Region 5's disapproval of the State of 
Indiana's SIP revision, submitted on December 10, 2009. EPA issued a 
final rule disapproving the SIP revision on December 27, 2013. On 
February 25, 2014, ArcelorMittal filed a petition for review of EPA's 
disapproval action in the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for 
the Seventh Circuit. ArcelorMittal Burns Harbor LLC v. EPA (No. 14-
1412). The State of Indiana intervened in the case on petitioner's 
behalf and is also a party to the settlement agreement.
    Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, Indiana 
agrees to submit to EPA a SIP revision which contains numeric emissions 
limits, a blast furnace gas testing protocol, and other specified 
provisions. EPA agrees to propose and take final action on the SIP 
submittal. If EPA approves a SIP submittal with numeric emissions 
limits and blast furnace gas testing protocol which are identical to 
those in the agreement, and otherwise contains terms substantially 
consistent with those in the agreement, ArcelorMittal agrees to dismiss 
its petition for review with prejudice. The proposed settlement 
agreement also provides that nothing in the settlement agreement limits 
the discretion of EPA to alter, amend, or revise its action under the 
agreement, nor does the agreement limit or modify any discretion 
afforded EPA by the Act or by general principles of administrative law. 
See the proposed settlement agreement for specific details.

[[Page 29515]]

    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 are not named as parties 
or intervenors to the litigation in question. EPA 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.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement 
Agreement

A. 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-2018-0767) 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 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 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 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. 
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: June 11, 2019.
Gautam Srinivasan,
Acting Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2019-13400 Filed 6-21-19; 8:45 am]
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