Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2012-0190-0003
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Consent Decrees: Clean Air Act Citizen Suit
Posted Date: 2012-03-14T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 49 (Tuesday, March 13, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 14784-14785]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-6028]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9646-7]

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 (``CAA'' or the ``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby 
given of a proposed consent decree to address a lawsuit filed by 
Kentucky Environmental Foundation in the United States District Court 
for the District of Columbia: Kentucky Environmental Foundation v. 
Jackson, No. 11-1253 (D.D.C.). Plaintiff filed a complaint and a first 
amended complaint alleging that EPA failed to take timely action to 
approve, disapprove, or approve in part and disapprove in part the 
State of Kentucky's State Implementation Plan submittals or potions of 
submittals for: (1) The Kentucky portion of the Cincinnati-Hamilton 
area, submitted to EPA on or about December 3, 2008, with regard to the 
1997 annual fine particular matter (PM2.5) National Ambient 
Air Quality Standard ( NAAQS); and (2) the Kentucky portion of the 
Louisville area, submitted to EPA on or about December 3, 2008, with 
regard to the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. The proposed consent 
decree establishes a deadline of October 1, 2012, for EPA to take 
action on the Louisville submittal.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by April 12, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2012-0190, 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: Stephanie L. Hogan, Air and Radiation 
Law Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-3244; fax number (202) 564-5603; email address: 
Hogan.stephanie@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    The proposed consent decree would resolve a lawsuit filed by 
Kentucky Environmental Foundation seeking to compel the Agency to take 
final action under sections 110(k)(2) and (3) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 
7410(k)(2) and (3), on the State of Kentucky's State Implementation 
Plan (SIP) submittals dated December 3, 2008. Specifically, the lawsuit 
seeks to compel the Agency to take final action, pursuant to section 
110(k) of the CAA, 42 U.S.C. 7410(k), on the 1997 P.M.2.5 
nonattainment area requirements, including the attainment 
demonstrations, contingency measures, emissions inventories, and 
reasonably

[[Page 14785]]

available control measures/reasonably available control technology 
requirements in the Cincinnati-Hamilton SIP and the Louisville SIP.
    On March 9, 2011, and September 29, 2011, respectively, EPA 
determined that the Cincinnati-Hamilton and the Louisville areas had 
attained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS. See 76 FR 12860; 76 FR 
60373. On September 30, 2011, the State of Kentucky withdrew its 
previously submitted attainment demonstrations, contingency measures, 
and reasonably available control measures for the Cincinnati-Hamilton 
SIP and the Louisville SIP but did not withdraw any portions of its 
submittals for the Cincinnati-Hamilton SIP and the Louisville SIP that 
pertain to emissions inventories. On December 15, 2011, EPA approved 
the emissions inventory in the Cincinnati-Hamilton SIP. See 76 FR 
77903.
    The proposed consent decree requires that, no later than October 1, 
2012, the appropriate EPA official shall sign a notice of final 
rulemaking approving, disapproving, or approving in part and 
disapproving in part the emissions inventory in the Louisville SIP. In 
addition, the proposed consent decree requires that, following 
signature, EPA shall expeditiously deliver the notice to the Office of 
the Federal Register for publication in the Federal Register and shall 
thereafter provide a copy of the notice to Plaintiff within ten (10) 
days. After EPA fulfills its obligations under the proposed consent 
decree, the consent decree may be terminated.
    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 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 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 proposed 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 Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2012-0190) 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 to 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 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: March 6, 2012.
Patricia Embrey,
Acting Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2012-6028 Filed 3-12-12; 8:45 am]
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