[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 148 (Tuesday, August 3, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46535-46537]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-17662]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7796-3]


Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Air Act Petitions for Review

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. section 7413(g), notice is hereby given of 
a proposed settlement agreement, to address lawsuits filed by Our 
Children's Earth Foundation, Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Local 342 
and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 302, and 
Communities for a Better Environment (``plaintiffs''): Our Children's 
Earth Foundation v. EPA (No. 04-70643) (9th Cir.); Plumbers and 
Steamfitters Union Local 342 v. EPA (No. 04-70688) (9th Cir.); and 
Communities for a Better Environment v. EPA (No. 04-70776) (9th Cir.) 
(consolidated). On or about February 12, 2004, February 13, 2004, and 
February 17, 2004 plaintiffs filed petitions for judicial review of 
EPA's dismissal of several administrative ``veto'' petitions filed 
under title V of the Act, which requested that the EPA Administrator 
object to operating permits issued by the Bay Area Air Quality 
Management District (``District'') for several oil refineries in the 
San Francisco Bay Area. Under the terms of the proposed settlement 
agreement, the parties would request a continuation of the stay of the 
petitions for review while the District finalizes new versions of the 
title V permits at issue, the Plaintiffs file new veto petitions on 
those new permits,

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and EPA responds to the new veto petitions.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be 
received by September 2, 2004.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin S. Minoli, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2333A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, 
telephone: (202) 564-5551.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket ID number OGC-
2004-0006, online at http://www.epa.gov/edocket (EPA's preferred 
method); by e-mail to [email protected]; mailed 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 B102, 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 Wordperfect or ASCII file, avoiding the use of special 
characters and any form of encryption, and may be mailed to the mailing 
address above.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement

    The petitions for review seek judicial review of EPA's November 
2003 dismissal of several administrative petitions filed under title V 
of the Act. The petitions requested that the EPA Administrator object 
to operating permits issued by the District for several oil refineries 
in the San Francisco Bay Area. EPA dismissed the administrative 
petitions as unripe after EPA informed the District that the permits 
had to be reopened because the District had failed to provide the 
Agency with proposed permits as required by 40 CFR part 70.
    The proposed settlement sets a deadline for EPA's response to new 
petitions plaintiffs will file once the District forwards new proposed 
permits for these refineries to EPA. Should EPA receive the proposed 
permits by July 31, 2004, as expected, the deadline for responding to 
any petitions filed by plaintiffs on those permits would be March 15, 
2005. The Agreement allows EPA and plaintiffs to opt out of the 
Agreement should the District fail to provide EPA with the proposed 
permits by July 31, 2004. During the stay, EPA would be required to 
inform the 9th Circuit Mediator's Office whether it is on track to meet 
the March 15, 2005, deadline on three occasions: September 1, 2004; 
January 10, 2005, and March 1, 2005.
    If the deadlines are met, plaintiffs will seek an indefinite stay 
of their litigation. The purpose of the indefinite stay is to allow 
plaintiffs to maintain their pending petitions for review as protective 
filings only, to be litigated only in the event that a court later 
determines that any challenge by plaintiffs to the merits of the 
Administrator's decisions on the anticipated petitions must be raised 
in the above-captioned litigation rather than a later-filed lawsuit.
    The proposed settlement calls for the government to pay attorneys' 
fees in the amount of $30,000.
    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 interveners 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 determine, 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

A. How Can I Get A Copy of the Settlement?

    EPA has established an official public docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. OGC-2004-0006 which contains a copy of the settlement. 
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 B102, 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 
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may 
use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ 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, select ``search,'' 
then key in the appropriate docket identification number.
    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 in EPA's electronic public docket as EPA receives 
them and 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 EPA's 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.
    Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to submit comments to 
EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method

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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 EPA's electronic public docket, 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: July 26, 2004.
Lisa K. Friedman,
Associate General Counsel, Air and Radiation Law Office, Office of 
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 04-17662 Filed 8-2-04; 8:45 am]
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