Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0717-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Settlement Agreement: Challenge to Clean Air Act
Posted Date: 2021-01-04T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 1 (Monday, January 4, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 87-88]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-29065]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0717; FRL-10019-15-OGC]

Proposed Settlement Agreement, Challenge to Clean Air 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 Clean Air Act, as amended (``CAA'' or 
the ``Act''), notice is hereby given of a proposed Settlement Agreement 
to resolve petitions for review filed by the State of Wyoming 
(``Wyoming'') and PacifiCorp with respect to PacifiCorp's Wyodak 
electric generating unit (EGU). In 2014, Wyoming and PacifiCorp filed 
petitions for review in the United States Court of Appeals for the 
Tenth Circuit, challenging EPA's final rule, in which the Agency 
partially approved and partially disapproved elements of Wyoming's 
Regional Haze State Implementation Plan (SIP), and promulgated a 
Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) to address the disapproved elements. 
In the Final rule, EPA, inter alia, disapproved Wyoming's determination 
concerning nitrogen oxide (NOX) best available retrofit 
technology (BART) for Wyodak and promulgated a FIP addressing 
NOX BART requirements for Wyodak. The Settlement Agreement 
would resolve Wyoming's and PacifiCorp's challenges to the final rule. 
Under the proposed Settlement Agreement, the parties agree to take 
certain specified actions.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be 
received by February 3, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2020-0717, 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 Settlement Agreement'' 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: 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; email address: hogan.stephanie@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining a Copy of the Proposed Settlement Agreement

    The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0717) contains a copy of the proposed Settlement 
Agreement.
    The electronic version of the public docket for this action 
contains a copy of the proposed Settlement Agreement, 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

[[Page 88]]

identification number then select ``search.''

II. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement Agreement

    The proposed Settlement Agreement would resolve Wyoming's and 
PacifiCorp's challenges to the following action: Approval, Disapproval 
and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of Wyoming; Regional 
Haze State Implementation Plan; Federal Implementation Plan for 
Regional Haze; final rule, 79 FR 5032 (January 30, 2014). See Wyoming 
v. EPA, No. 14-9529 (10th Cir. filed March 28, 2014) and PacifiCorp v. 
EPA, No. 14-9534 (10th Cir. filed March 31, 2014).
    The proposed Settlement Agreement establishes deadlines by which 
Wyoming and EPA will take certain specified actions with respect to 
development of and action on a SIP revision addressing NOX 
BART requirements for Wyodak. The proposed Settlement Agreement further 
provides that, if certain conditions are met, Wyoming, PacifiCorp, and 
EPA agree to move for dismissal of Wyoming's and PacifiCorp's 
challenges to the Final rule. See the proposed Settlement Agreement for 
specific details.
    In accordance with section 113(g) of the CAA, 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. 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 consent is 
inappropriate, improper, inadequate, or inconsistent with the 
requirements of the Act.

III. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement 
Agreement

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-
0717, 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.
    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. 2020-29065 Filed 12-31-20; 8:45 am]
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