Document ID: EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-0367-0001
Agency: epa
Document Type: Notice
Title: Proposed Settlement Agreement: Clean Water Act and Administrative Procedure Act Claims
Posted Date: 2023-07-18T04:00Z

[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 136 (Tuesday, July 18, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 45900-45901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-15110]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-0367; FRL-11167-01-OGC]

Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Water Act and Administrative 
Procedure Act Claims

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed settlement agreement; request for public 
comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
Administrator's March 18, 2022, memorandum regarding ``Consent Decrees 
and Settlement Agreements to resolve Environmental Claims Against the 
Agency,'' notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement agreement 
that would resolve Gunpowder Riverkeeper v. Regan, et al., No. 1:20-cv-
02063 (D.D.C.). On July 29, 2020, Gunpowder Riverkeeper (Plaintiff) 
filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District 
of Columbia alleging that EPA's approval of Maryland's submission of 
Total Maximum Daily Loads of Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB TMDLs) for 
the Gunpowder and Bird Rivers was arbitrary and capricious in violation 
of the Administrative Procedure Act (APA). EPA seeks public input on a 
proposed settlement agreement prior to its final decision-making with 
regard to potential settlement of the litigation.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be 
received by August 17, 2023.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2023-0367 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

[[Page 45901]]

posted without change to https://www.regulations.gov, including any 
personal information provided. For detailed instructions on sending 
comments, see the ``Additional Information About Commenting on the 
Proposed Settlement Agreement'' heading under the SUPPLEMENTARY 
INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Alec Mullee, Water Law Office, Office 
of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; telephone: 
(202) 564-9616; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement Agreement

    A TMDL is the maximum amount of a pollutant that could enter a 
waterbody without causing a violation of water quality standards. The 
Clean Water Act (CWA) requires states to submit TMDLs for impaired 
waters to EPA for approval or disapproval. The Maryland Department of 
the Environment (MDE) listed the Gunpowder River and the Bird River as 
impaired for PCBs in fish tissue in 2006 and 2008, respectively. In 
2015, MDE established PCB TMDLs concerning those impairments. In 2016, 
EPA approved the PCB TMDLs.
    In July 2020, Plaintiff filed a lawsuit challenging EPA's approval. 
In October 2021, EPA and Plaintiff jointly requested the court to hold 
the case in abeyance so that they could engage in settlement 
negotiations. In the proposed settlement, EPA would agree to begin fish 
tissue sampling in specified areas by December 1, 2023; to make the 
results of the sampling available on its website and submit them to 
MDE; and to hold a public meeting on PCB TMDL implementation by March 
30, 2026 if neither MDE nor Baltimore County does so by September 30, 
2025.
    For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication 
of this notice, EPA will accept written comments relating to the 
proposed settlement agreement from persons who are not parties to the 
litigation. EPA or the Department of Justice may withdraw or withhold 
consent to the proposed settlement agreement if the comments received 
disclose facts or considerations that indicate that such consent is 
inappropriate, improper, inadequate, or inconsistent with the 
requirements of the CWA or APA.

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 Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-0367) 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.
    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 identification number then 
select ``search.''

B. How and to whom do I submit comments?

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-
0367 via https://www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from this docket. 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. 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.
    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 does not plan to consider these late 
comments.

Steven Neugeboren,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-15110 Filed 7-17-23; 8:45 am]
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