Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2021-0828-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Settlement Agreement: Clean Water Act
Posted Date: 2021-12-01T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 228 (Wednesday, December 1, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 68252-68254]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26085]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2021-0828; FRL-9300-01-OGC]

Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Water Act

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice; request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
Administrator's October 16, 2017, Directive Promoting Transparency and 
Public Participation in Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements, 
notice is hereby given of a proposed consent decree to address several 
claims in a lawsuit filed by Sierra Club, Center for Environmental Law 
and Policy, and plaintiff-intervenor, the Spokane Tribe of Indians 
(``Plaintiffs'') in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of 
Washington. On October 21, 2011, the Plaintiffs Sierra Club and Center 
for Environmental Law and Policy filed a complaint alleging, among 
other things, that EPA failed to perform duties mandated by the Clean 
Water Act (``CWA'') with respect to Total Maximum Daily Loads 
(``TMDLs'') for segments of the Spokane River and adjacent water bodies 
that were listed as impaired due to polychlorinated biphenyls 
(``PCBs''). EPA seeks public input on the proposed consent decree prior 
to its final decision-making to settle the litigation.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by January 3, 2022.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2021-0828, online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method). 
For comments submitted at www.regulations.gov, follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from www.regulations.gov. The 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 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 
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). The 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: Stephen Sweeney, Water Law Office 
(2355A), Office of General Counsel, U.S.

[[Page 68253]]

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone: (202) 564-5491; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    On October 11, 2011, Plaintiffs Sierra Club and Center for 
Environmental Law and Policy filed suit in the federal district court 
for the Western District of Washington. Plaintiff's original Complaint 
alleged a failure by EPA to perform nondiscretionary duties under CWA 
section 303(d)(2), 33 U.S.C. 1313(d)(2), to approve or disapprove TMDLs 
for PCBs that Plaintiffs asserted the Washington Department of Ecology 
had constructively submitted for various segments of the Spokane River, 
and, upon disapproval, to promulgate such TMDLs. Subsequently, the 
Spokane Tribe of Indians intervened as plaintiffs and Plaintiffs 
amended their complaints to file additional claims. The proposed 
consent decree would resolve all claims brought by Plaintiffs.
    Under the proposed consent decree, EPA's obligations would be to 
issue the TMDLs for PCBs by a deadline of September 30, 2024, for the 
following PCB-impaired water segments Assessment Units in the Spokane 
River, the Little Spokane River, and or Lake Spokane (Long Lake) 
located in Washington State (or as these same PCB-impaired Assessment 
Units have been or may be subsequently renumbered by the Washington 
State Department of Ecology): 17010305000009; 17010305000010; 
17010305000011; 17010305000012; 17010307000010; 17010307000774; 
17010307009102; 17010307009615; 17010308000018; 47117H513; 47117I6C1; 
47117I7d4; 47117I8C2; 47117I5A4; 47117H5J8; 47117I7E2; 47117I7D3; 
47117I7B9 and 47117I5A5. EPA also would file status reports with the 
court every 180 days to apprise the parties to the litigation and the 
court of EPA's progress satisfying the requirement to issue the TMDLs 
and of the work EPA intended to undertake during the next 180 day 
period. The proposed consent decree would not resolve Plaintiffs' 
claims for attorney's fees, which Plaintiffs would need to file within 
165 days of entry of the consent decree.
    For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication 
of this notice, the Agency will accept written comments relating to the 
obligations of EPA for resolution of the claims contained in the 
proposed consent decree from persons who are not named as original 
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 CWA or any other provision of 
law. Unless EPA or the Department of Justice determine that they should 
not consent to this proposed consent decree, the terms of the proposed 
consent decree will be affirmed and filed for entry by the Court.

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-2021-0828) 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 in 
this document. 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. 
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

[[Page 68254]]

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: November 24, 2021.
Steven Neugeboren,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2021-26085 Filed 11-30-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P