Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2015-0079-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Consent Decrees, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit: Sierra Club v. McCarthy, Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-6472-CRB (N.D. Cal.)
Posted Date: 2015-02-11T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7586-7588]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02858]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL 9922-85-OGC]

Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed consent decree; request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as 
amended

[[Page 7587]]

(``CAA'' or the ``Act''), notice is hereby given of a proposed consent 
decree to address a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club in the United 
States District Court for the Northern District of California: Sierra 
Club v. McCarthy, Civil Action No. 3:12-cv-6472-CRB (N.D. Cal.). On 
December 21, 2012, Plaintiff filed a complaint alleging that Gina 
McCarthy, in her official capacity as Administrator of the United 
States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA''), failed to perform a 
mandatory duty by not acting on 2006 PM 2.5 infrastructure state 
implementation plans (iSIPs) for six states and failed to promulgate 
transport federal implementation plans (FIPs) for an additional 20 
states and the District of Columbia. The proposed consent decree would 
establish deadlines for EPA to take actions.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by March 13, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2015-0079, 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: Ragan S. Tate, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-7382; fax number: (202) 564-5603; email address: 
tate.ragan@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    The proposed consent decree would resolve a lawsuit filed by the 
Sierra Club seeking to compel the Administrator to take actions on 2006 
PM 2.5 infrastructure SIPs for six states and to promulgate transport 
FIPs for an additional 20 states and the District of Columbia. The 
proposed consent decree (1) agrees that no claim is stated as to an 
iSIP claim for Illinois and deems an iSIP claim as to California moot 
as EPA has acted on submittals relating to those claims, (2) agrees 
that no claim is stated for failure to issue transport FIPs for 10 
states which were included in CSAPR as it is the transport FIP for 
those states, and (3) deems transport FIP obligations for 5 states 
(Alaska, Montana, North Dakota, Louisiana, & Utah) moot as EPA has 
acted on those transport SIPs.
    Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, by November 30, 
2015, EPA shall take final action to approve or disapprove a SIP on the 
remaining iSIP elements for California, Illinois, Michigan, Nebraska, 
South Dakota and Wisconsin. In addition, the proposed consent decree 
states that EPA shall take final action to promulgate a good neighbor 
FIP or approve a SIP regarding the transport obligations for 5 
remaining states and the District of Columbia which final action must 
be signed for Colorado and Wyoming by July 31, 2015, for Oregon by 
September 30, 2015, and for the District of Columbia, South Dakota, and 
Idaho, by November 30, 2015.
    The proposed consent decree requires EPA to send notice of each 
action to the Office of the Federal Register for review and publication 
within 15 days of signature. In addition, the proposed consent decree 
outlines the procedure for the Plaintiff to request costs of 
litigation, including attorney fees. When these obligations have been 
completed, the case shall be terminated and dismissed with prejudice.
    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 consent decree from persons who are 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 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. Unless EPA or the Department of 
Justice determines that consent to this consent decree should be 
withdrawn, the terms of the consent decree will be affirmed.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent 
Decree

A. How can I get a copy of the consent decree?

    The official public docket for this action (identified by EPA-HQ-
OGC-2015-0079) 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.
    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 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

[[Page 7588]]

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.

    Dated: February 4, 2015.
 Brian L. Doster,
Acting Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2015-02858 Filed 2-10-15; 8:45 am]
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