Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-0453-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Consent Decree: Clean Water Act
Posted Date: 2023-09-08T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 173 (Friday, September 8, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 62080-62081]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-19433]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-0453; FRL-11386-01-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 Center 
for Biological Diversity, et al., v. Regan, et al., No. 3:23-cv-535 
(N.D. Cal. 2023). On February 6, 2023, the Center for Biological 
Diversity, the Friends of the Earth, and Marcelin Keever (collectively, 
``Plaintiffs'') filed a complaint in the United States District Court 
for the Northern District of California against the EPA alleging that 
the Agency had failed to perform its non-discretionary duty to 
promulgate national standards of performance for discharges incidental 
to the normal operation of large commercial vessels (and ballast water 
from certain other types of vessels) pursuant to the Clean Water Act 
(CWA) as amended by the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act of 2018 (VIDA). 
EPA seeks public input on a proposed consent decree setting a date for 
final action on the national standards of performance prior to its 
final decision-making regarding potential settlement of the litigation.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by October 10, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2023-0453 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: Thomas Glazer, Water Law Office, 
Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; 
telephone: (202) 564-0908; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    The president signed VIDA into law on December 4, 2018. Among other 
things, VIDA directed EPA to ``promulgate Federal standards of 
performance for marine pollution control devices for each type of 
discharge incidental to the normal operation of a vessel'' by December 
4, 2020. 33 U.S.C. 1322(p)(4)(A)(i). EPA published a proposed 
rulemaking on October 26, 2020, 85 FR. 67818, but did not take final 
action in time to meet the statutory deadline.
    On September 13, 2022, Plaintiffs sent EPA a notice of intent (NOI) 
to sue alleging that EPA had failed to satisfy its mandatory duty under 
VIDA to promulgate Federal standards of performance. The Plaintiffs 
filed a complaint on February 6, 2023, seeking a declaratory judgment 
that EPA violated the statutory deadline and ordering the Agency to 
promulgate expeditiously.
    The parties initiated settlement discussions, which produced the 
proposed consent decree. Under the consent decree, EPA would be 
obligated to sign a decision taking final action by September 23, 2024. 
The consent decree's schedule is based on EPA's projected timeline for 
completing the rulemaking. This deadline may be extended by written 
agreement of the parties or by the court pursuant to Federal Rule 
60(b).
    For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication 
of this notice, EPA will accept written comments relating to the 
proposed consent decree from persons who are not parties to the 
litigation. 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

[[Page 62081]]

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-2023-0453) 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-2023-
0453 via https://www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from this docket. 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. 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, 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 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 https://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. 
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 does not plan to consider these late 
comments.

Steven M. Neugeboren,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-19433 Filed 9-7-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P