Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2014-0899-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Settlement Agreement
Posted Date: 2014-12-23T05:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 246 (Tuesday, December 23, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 77004-77005]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-30091]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL 9920-79-OGC]

Proposed Settlement Agreement

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''), notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement 
agreement to address lawsuits filed by Oxy Vinyls, LP; The Vinyl 
Institute, Inc. (``Vinyl Institute''); PolyOne Corp. (now, Mexichem 
Specialty Resins, Inc.); Saint-Gobain Corp. and CertainTeed Corp. 
(collectively ``Petitioners'') in the United States Court of Appeals 
for the District of Columbia Circuit (Case Nos. 12-1260, 12-1265, 12-
1266, and 12-1267). Between June 14, 2012 and June 18, 2012, 
Petitioners filed petitions for review of EPA's final rule entitled 
``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for 
Polyvinyl Chloride and Copolymers Production,'' (April 17, 2012). The 
proposed settlement agreement establishes deadlines for EPA to take 
action.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be 
received by January 22, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2014-0899, 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: Mark M. Kataoka, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-5584; fax number (202) 564-5603; email address: 
kataoka.mark@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement Agreement

    The proposed settlement agreement will partially resolve lawsuits 
seeking review of EPA's final rule entitled ``National Emission 
Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants for Polyvinyl Chloride and 
Copolymers Production,'' 77 FR 22848, April 17, 2012, (``PVC NESHAP'' 
or ``2012 Rule). On June 18, 2012, Petitioner Vinyl Institute and 
others petitioned for reconsideration and to stay the 2012 Rule pending 
reconsideration with EPA, and on September 28, 2012, EPA granted 
administrative reconsideration of the 2012 Rule on at least 
Petitioners' claims that the public was not afforded a reasonable 
opportunity to comment on emission limits in the final 2012 Rule for 
process wastewater. The proposed settlement agreement states that no 
later than January 21, 2015, EPA will sign a direct final rule and 
parallel proposal withdrawing the total non-vinyl chloride organic 
hazardous air pollutant (``TOHAP'') process wastewater emission limits 
for new and existing area sources. The proposed settlement agreement 
provides that to the extent that EPA establishes new TOHAP process 
wastewater emission limits for existing and new area sources, those 
emission limits will be set pursuant to the reconsideration process or 
other separate rulemaking, and not through the direct final or final 
rule described in the settlement agreement. Under the proposed 
settlement agreement, if EPA receives adverse comments on and withdraws 
the direct final rule, EPA will make its best efforts to sign a notice 
taking final action on the parallel proposal within 15 days of the 
close of the comment period. In addition, the proposed settlement 
agreement states that Oxy Vinyls, LP will move to dismiss its petition 
for review, and the remaining Petitioners will move to dismiss the 
issue of the existing and new area source TOHAP process wastewater 
emission limits from their petitions for review within 7 days following 
the effective date of the direct final rule or a final rule withdrawing 
the existing and new area source TOHAP process wastewater limits. 
Nothing in the proposed settlement agreement limits or modifies EPA's 
discretion under the Clean Air Act in either the related direct final 
rulemaking process or otherwise.
    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 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 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 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?

    The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2014-0899) contains a copy of the proposed 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 
www.regulations.gov. You may use the 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

[[Page 77005]]

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: December 15, 2014.
Lorie J. Schmidt,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2014-30091 Filed 12-22-14; 8:45 am]
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