[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 156 (Monday, August 15, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47838-47839]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-16112]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7952-4]


Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit

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. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a 
proposed settlement agreement to address a lawsuit filed by the 
Interstate Natural Gas Association of America: Interstate Natural Gas 
Association of America v. EPA, No. 04-1296 (DC Cir.). On September 1, 
2004, the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America 
(``Petitioner'') filed a Petition for Review of EPA's final rule 
pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 7607 and Rule 15 of the Federal Rules of 
Appellate Procedure. Petitioner challenged the EPA's final rule 
entitled ``Standards of Performance for Stationary Gas Turbines'' 
published on July 8, 2004 (69 FR 41346). The standards of performance 
for stationary gas turbines are set forth in 40 CFR part 60, subpart 
GG. Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, EPA will 
undertake rulemaking to make certain amendments to the rule at issue. 
No later than 60 days after the date this Agreement becomes final, EPA 
shall sign either a notice of proposed rulemaking or a notice of direct 
final rulemaking and concurrent proposal to amend certain provisions of 
40 CFR 60.334 and 60.335. The amendments to these sections of subpart 
GG will be made in order to clarify our intent that nothing in the 
amendments to subpart GG was meant to impose new requirements for 
turbines constructed after 1977, when subpart GG was initially 
promulgated, that do not use water or steam injection to control 
NOX emissions.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be 
received by September 14, 2005.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket ID number OAR-
2002-0053, 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.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas W. Swegle, Air and Radiation 
Law Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-5546.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement

    Petitioner filed a petition for review of EPA's final rule entitled 
``Standards of Performance for Stationary Gas Turbines'' 69 FR 41346 
(July 8, 2004), challenging the final rule. The final rule consisted of 
amendments to several sections of the standards of performance in 40 
CFR part 60, subpart GG that were promulgated to codify several 
alternative testing and monitoring procedures that have been routinely 
approved by EPA Once implemented the Settlement Agreement (the 
``Agreement'') would resolve the petition for review. The Agreement, 
which is subject to section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, provides that 
EPA shall sign either a notice of proposed rulemaking or a notice of 
direct final rulemaking and concurrent proposal to amend provisions at 
40 CFR 60.334(c), (e), (f) and (j) and 60.335(b)(8) relating to the 
monitoring of certain turbines that do not use water or steam injection 
to control NOX emissions. The amendments will clarify that 
nothing in the provisions of subpart GG was meant to impose new 
monitoring requirements for turbines that do not use water or steam 
injection to control NOX emissions. Owners and operators of 
existing and new turbines may use monitoring that meets the pre-
existing monitoring requirements of subpart GG. In addition, the 
regulations as amended under the terms of the Agreement will describe a 
number of acceptable compliance monitoring options that owners and 
operators may elect to use for these units.
    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 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 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 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 Agreement?

    EPA has established an official public docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. OAR-2002-0053 which contains a copy of the 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 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

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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 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: August 5, 2005.
Richard B. Ossias,
Acting Associate General Counsel, Air and Radiation Law Office, Office 
of General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 05-16112 Filed 8-12-05; 8:45 am]
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