[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 2, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25838-25840]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E6-6619]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8164-7]


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 Utility 
Air Regulatory Group (``UARG'') in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 
District of Columbia: Utility Air Regulatory Group v. EPA, No. 06-1056 
(D.C. Cir.). This lawsuit, which was filed pursuant to section 307(b) 
of the Act, is a petition for review of EPA's final rule entitled 
``Regional Haze Regulations and Guidelines for Best Available Retrofit 
Technology (BART) Determinations,'' published at 70 FR

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39104 (July 6, 2005). Under the terms of the proposed settlement 
agreement, EPA has agreed to execute two documents that provide 
guidance on the revised regional haze regulations and the BART 
Guidelines.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be 
received by June 1, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2006-0315, 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, 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: M. Lea Anderson, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-5571; fax number (202) 564-5603; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement

    Petitioner raised issues concerning: (1) Whether the statement in 
the preamble to the final rule that the BART Guidelines use the natural 
visibility baseline for the 20 percent best visibility days for 
determining a source's impact on visibility incorrectly characterized 
the provisions of the BART Guidelines; (2) whether it is acceptable 
under the BART Guidelines to undertake a pollutant-specific analysis 
when modeling the impacts from a single source; (3) whether a statement 
in the preamble to the final rule that international emissions are 
properly accounted for in the 5-year state implementation plan was 
intended to change EPA's views on the treatment of international 
emissions; and (4) whether, in making BART determinations, the States 
are required to consider any nonair quality environmental benefits from 
reducing emissions of visibility-impairing pollutants. Under the terms 
of the proposed settlement, EPA has agreed to execute two documents 
that provide guidance on the interpretation of the BART Rule and 
Guidelines.
    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 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, 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?

    Direct your comments to the official public docket for this action 
under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2006-0315 which 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 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 
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 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

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public docket, and made available in EPA's electronic public docket.

    Dated: April 24, 2006.
Richard B. Ossias,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E6-6619 Filed 5-1-06; 8:45 am]
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