[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 247 (Tuesday, December 27, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 76450-76451]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E5-7853]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8015-5]


Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of Proposed Consent Decree; 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 consent decree, to address a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club 
and the American Bottom Conservancy (collectively ``Plaintiffs''): 
Sierra Club, et al. v. Johnson, No. 05-C-4425 (N.D. IL). On August 2, 
2005, plaintiffs filed a complaint alleging that they had submitted a 
petition to EPA seeking an objection to a Clean Air Act Title V permit 
proposed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for the Onyx 
Environmental Services' waste incinerator (``Onyx Incinerator'') in 
Sauget, Illinois, and that the Administrator failed to perform his 
nondiscretionary duty to respond to the petition within sixty days of 
the date it was filed. Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, 
EPA has agreed to respond to the petition by February 1, 2006, and the 
plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss their suit with prejudice. In 
addition, EPA has agreed to pay the plaintiffs a specified amount in 
settlement of the plaintiffs' claims for attorneys' fees in this 
matter.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by January 26, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2005-0529, online at http://www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred 
method); by e-mail to [email protected]; mailed to EPA Docket Center, 
Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T,

[[Page 76451]]

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: Paul Versace, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-0219; fax number (202) 564-5603; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    This proposed consent decree would resolve a lawsuit seeking a 
response to a petition to object to a Title V permit proposed by the 
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to the Onyx Environmental 
Services' waste incinerator in Sauget, Illinois. Under the proposed 
decree, the parties would seek to stay the pending litigation, and the 
plaintiffs would agree to dismiss the lawsuit if the Administrator 
issues a response to the petition by February 1, 2006. The consent 
decree does not require the Administrator to respond to the petition in 
any particular way. If the consent decree becomes final and the 
Administrator issues a response to the petition by February 1, 2006, 
Plaintiffs will dismiss the case and EPA will pay the plaintiffs a 
specified amount in settlement of their claims for attorneys' fees.
    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 consent decree 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 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 Act. Unless EPA or the Department of 
Justice determines, based on any comment which may be submitted, that 
consent to the consent decree should be withdrawn, the terms of the 
decree will be affirmed.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent 
Decree

A. How Can I Get A Copy Of the Consent Decree?

    Direct your comments to the official public docket for this action 
under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2005-0529 which contains a copy of the 
consent decree. 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 
http://www.regulations.gov. You may use the http://www.regulations.gov 
Web site to submit or view public comments, to 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 online at http://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. 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.
    Use of the http://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, 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 http://www.regulations.gov, 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: December 20, 2005.
Richard B. Ossias,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E5-7853 Filed 12-23-05; 8:45 am]
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