Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2010-0400-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit
Posted Date: 2010-04-30T04:00Z

[Federal Register: April 30, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 83)]
[Notices]               
[Page 22787-22788]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30ap10-74]                         

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9143-6]

 
Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Settlement Agreement; Request for Public 
Comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as 
amended (``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a 
proposed settlement agreement, to address a lawsuit filed by Louisiana 
Environmental Action Network and Concerned Citizens of Livingston 
Parish: Louisiana Environmental Action Network v. Jackson, Civil Action 
No. 1:09-cv-01943-HHK (D. D.C.). On or about October 13, 2009, 
Louisiana Environmental Action Network and Concerned Citizens of 
Livingston Parish filed a complaint alleging that EPA Administrator 
Jackson failed to fulfill a mandatory duty to respond to an 
administrative petition to object to issuance of air permit No. 1740-
00025V1 to Waste Management for the Woodside Landfill in Walker, 
Livingston Parish Louisiana (the ``Woodside Petition'') within the 60 
days specified in section 505(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act and asking the 
court to enter judgment: (i) Declaring that EPA's failure to perform 
its nondiscretionary duty to grant or deny the administrative petition 
within 60 days is a violation of Clean Air Act section 505(b); and, 
(ii) Ordering EPA to grant or deny the administrative petition within 
60 calendar days of the court's ruling. Under the terms of the proposed 
settlement agreement, EPA agrees to sign a response to the Woodside 
Petition no later than May 28, 2010.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be 
received by June 1, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2010-0400 online at http://www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred 
method); by e-mail 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: Rick Vetter, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (919) 541-2127; fax number (919) 541-4991; e-mail address: 
vetter.rick@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement or Consent 
Decree

    On October 13, 2009, Louisiana Environmental Action Network, a non-
profit conservation organization, and Concerned Citizens of Livingston 
Parish, a non-profit corporation, (hereinafter collectively ``LEAN'') 
filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District 
of Columbia (Civil Action No. 1:09-cv-01943-HHK). In the complaint, 
LEAN alleges that EPA has failed to fulfill a mandatory duty to respond 
to an administrative petition to object to issuance of air permit No. 
1740-00025V1 to Waste Management for the Woodside Landfill in Walker, 
Livingston Parish Louisiana (the ``Woodside Petition'') within the 60 
days specified in section 505(b)(2) of the Clean Air Act.
    The EPA and LEAN chose to enter into a proposed settlement 
agreement to avoid protracted and costly litigation and to preserve 
judicial resources. Under the terms of the proposed settlement 
agreement, EPA is to sign a response to the Woodside Petition no later 
than May 28, 2010.
    For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication 
of this notice, the Agency will receive written comments relating to 
the proposed settlement agreement 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 
settlement agreement if the comments disclose facts or considerations 
that indicate that such

[[Page 22788]]

consent is inappropriate, improper, inadequate, or inconsistent with 
the requirements of the Clean Air Act. Unless EPA or the Department of 
Justice determines, based on any comment which may be submitted, that 
consent to the settlement agreement should be withdrawn, the terms of 
the agreement will be affirmed.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement 
Agreement

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

    Direct your comments to the official public docket for this action 
under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2010-0400 which contains a copy of the 
settlement agreement. 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 
http://www.regulations.gov. You may use the http://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 http://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 e-mail 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 http://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, e-mail 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 
(e-mail) system is not an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an 
e-mail comment directly to the Docket without going through http://
www.regulations.gov, your e-mail 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: April 23, 2010.
Richard B. Ossias,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2010-10154 Filed 4-29-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P