Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2022-0292-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Settlement Agreement: Clean Water Act
Posted Date: 2022-03-21T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 54 (Monday, March 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15986-15988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05936]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2022-0292; FRL_9650-01-OGC]

Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Water Act

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed settlement agreement; request for public 
comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
Administrator's October 16, 2017 Directive Promoting Transparency and 
Public Participation in Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements, the 
agency is providing notice of a proposed settlement agreement in a 
lawsuit filed by Din[eacute] Citizens Against Ruining the Environment, 
Amigos Bravos, San Juan Citizens Alliance, and Center for Biological 
Diversity (``Petitioners''), in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth 
Circuit. On January 22, 2021 the Petitioners filed a lawsuit seeking 
review of the 2020 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System 
(NPDES) permit issued by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
Region 9 to the Arizona Public Service Company for discharges from the 
Four Corners Power Plant. Under the proposed settlement agreement, the 
parties would seek to stay the associated case for at least 15 months.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreements must be 
received by April 20, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2022-0292, online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method). 
For comments submitted at www.regulations.gov, please follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from www.regulations.gov. 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

[[Page 15987]]

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 generally will not consider comments or comment 
contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, 
cloud, or other file sharing system). EPA encourages the public to 
submit comments via www.Regulations.gov, as there will be a delay in 
processing mail and no hand deliveries will be accepted. 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: Elise O'Dea, Water Law Office (2355A), 
Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone: (202) 564-4201; 
email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement Agreement

    On January 22, 2021, four organizations (Din[eacute] Citizens 
Against Ruining the Environment, Amigos Bravos, San Juan Citizens 
Alliance, and Center for Biological Diversity, hereinafter 
``Petitioners'') filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
Ninth Circuit seeking review of the 2020 National Pollutant Discharge 
Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 to the Arizona Public Service Company 
for discharges from the Four Corners Power Plant. Petitioners 
previously sought review of the permit before the Environmental Appeals 
Board, which issued an order denying review of the permit on September 
30, 2020 in the case In re Arizona Public Service Co. The parties have 
engaged in mediation in an attempt to resolve Petitioners' concerns 
with the Four Corners Power Plant NPDES permit and have negotiated a 
proposed settlement agreement. Pursuant to the proposed settlement 
agreement, EPA Region 9 would, among other things, perform a 
``reasonable potential analysis'' for temperature and potentially take 
related action that would result in dismissal of the 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 are not parties to the 
proposed settlement agreement. EPA also may hold a public hearing on 
whether to enter into the proposed settlement agreement. EPA or the 
Department of Justice may withdraw or withhold consent to the proposed 
settlement agreement if the comments received disclose facts or 
considerations that indicate that such consent is inappropriate, 
improper, inadequate, or inconsistent with the requirements of the 
Clean Water Act.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement 
Agreement

A. How can I get a copy of the proposed settlement agreement?

    The official public docket for this action (identified by EPA-HQ-
OGC-2022-0292) contains a copy of the proposed settlement agreement. 
The official public docket is located at the Office of Environmental 
Information (OEI) Docket in the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 
1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The regular hours of the EPA 
Docket Center Public Reading Room are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays; however, due to the 
COVID-19 pandemic, there may be limited or no opportunity to enter the 
docket center. At the time of this printing, the docket center is 
closed to public visitors out of an abundance of caution for members of 
the public and EPA staff to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. 
During the closure, Docket Center staff will continue to provide remote 
customer service via email, phone, and webform. For further information 
on EPA Docket Center services, see https://www.epa.gov/dockets. 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 on EPA's 
website at 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. EPA has not included any 
copyrighted material in the docket for this proposed settlement. If 
commenters submit copyrighted material in a public comment, it will be 
placed in the official public docket and made available for public 
viewing when the EPA Docket Center is open.

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. The EPA encourages the public to submit comments via 
www.Regulations.gov. There will be a delay in processing mail and no 
hand deliveries will be accepted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
    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 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.

[[Page 15988]]

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: March 14, 2022.
Steven Neugeboren,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2022-05936 Filed 3-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P