Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0368-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Consent Decree: Clean Air Act - Our Children's Earth Foundation v. Wheeler, No. 3:19-cv-07125 (N.D. Cal.)
Posted Date: 2020-07-24T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 143 (Friday, July 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44888-44890]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-16112]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0368; FRL-10012-76-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 (``CAA'' or the ``Act''), notice is given of a proposed consent 
decree in Our Children's Earth Foundation v. Wheeler, No. 3:19-cv-07125 
(N.D. Cal.). On October 29, 2019, Our Children's Earth Foundation filed 
a complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern 
District of California, alleging that the Administrator of the United 
States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') failed to perform non-
discretionary duties to review the existing New Source Performance 
Standards (``NSPS'') governing Secondary Lead Smelters (``Secondary 
Lead Smelters NSPS''); Lead-Acid Battery Manufacturing Plants (``Lead-
Acid Battery Manufacturing NSPS''); Industrial Surface Coating: Surface 
Coating of Plastic Parts for Business Machines (``Industrial Surface 
Coating of Plastic Parts for Business Machines NSPS''); and Automobile 
and Light Duty Truck Surface Coating Operations (``Automobile and Light 
Duty Truck Surface Coating Operations NSPS''), and to review the 
existing National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants 
(``NESHAP'') governing Dry Cleaning Facilities: National 
Perchloroethylene Air Emission Standards (``Dry Cleaning Facilities 
NESHAP''); Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous Surface Coating Operations 
at Area Sources (``Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous Surface Coating 
Operations NESHAP''), and Lead Acid Battery Manufacturing Area Sources 
(``Lead Acid Battery Manufacturing NESHAP''). The proposed consent 
decree would establish deadlines for EPA to take action on these source 
categories.

[[Page 44889]]

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by August 24, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2020-0368, 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 and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Additional Information 
about Commenting on the Proposed Consent Decree'' heading under the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document. Out of an abundance 
of caution for members of the public and our staff, the EPA Docket 
Center and Reading Room are closed to the public, with limited 
exceptions, to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19. Our Docket 
Center staff will continue to provide remote customer service via 
email, phone, and webform. We encourage the public to submit comments 
via https://www.regulations.gov, as there may be a delay in processing 
mail and faxes. Hand deliveries and couriers may be received by 
scheduled appointment only. For further information on EPA Docket 
Center services and the current status, please visit us online at 
https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    The EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information 
from the CDC, local area health departments, and our Federal partners 
so that we can respond rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Stacey Simone Garfinkle, Air and 
Radiation Law Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone: (202) 564-3103; email address: 
garfinkle.stacey@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining a Copy of the Proposed Consent Decree

    The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0368) contains a copy of the proposed consent 
decree.
    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.''

II. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    The proposed consent decree would resolve a lawsuit filed by Our 
Children's Earth Foundation seeking to compel the Administrator to take 
action under the Clean Air Act to review, and if appropriate revise, 
the Secondary Lead Smelters NSPS, Lead-Acid Battery Manufacturing 
Plants NSPS, Industrial Surface Coating of Plastic Parts for Business 
Machines NSPS, and Automobile and Light Duty Truck Surface Coating 
Operations NSPS at least every 8 years under section 111(b)(1)(B) of 
the Act, and to review, and revise if necessary (taking into account 
developments in practices, processes, and control technologies), the 
Dry Cleaning Facilities NESHAP, Paint Stripping and Miscellaneous 
Surface Coating Operations NESHAP, and Lead Acid Battery Manufacturing 
NESHAP no less often than every 8 years under section 112(d)(6) of the 
Act.
    Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, EPA shall review, 
and revise if necessary, the above source categories by the deadlines 
established in the proposed consent decree. Beginning on January 1, 
2021, EPA will provide Our Children's Earth Foundation with status 
reports every 180 days to inform Plaintiff as to whether the Agency is 
making reasonable progress toward meeting the deadlines proposed in the 
consent decree, and whether the Agency anticipates any difficulties in 
meeting the deadlines with an explanation of the difficulty or 
difficulties.
    For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication 
of this document, the Agency will accept written comments relating to 
the proposed consent decree. 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.

III. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent 
Decree

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-
0368, via https://www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from this docket. The 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. 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, 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. Note that written 
comments containing CBI and submitted by mail may be delayed and 
deliveries or couriers will be received by scheduled appointment only.
    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.

[[Page 44890]]

    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.

Gautam Srinivasan,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2020-16112 Filed 7-23-20; 8:45 am]
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