[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 183 (Wednesday, September 21, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 58507-58509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-24276]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9468-6]


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 (``CAA'' or the ``Act''), notice is hereby given of a proposed 
settlement agreement to address a lawsuit filed by Sierra Club in the 
United States District Court for the District of Columbia: Sierra Club 
v. Jackson, No. 1:11-0100 (D.D.C.). On January 13, 2011, Plaintiff 
filed a complaint alleging that EPA failed to perform nondiscretionary 
duties under the CAA as to whether six areas: Houston-Galveston-
Brazoria (TX), Baltimore (MD), New York-Northern New Jersey-Long 
Island, Springfield (Western Massachusetts), Greater Connecticut, and 
Boston-Lawrence-Worcester (MA-NH) which are designated as nonattainment 
for ozone attained the 1-hour ozone national ambient air quality 
standard (``1-Hour ozone standard'') by the applicable attainment date. 
The proposed settlement agreement establishes

[[Page 58508]]

deadlines for EPA to make these determinations.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be 
received by October 21, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2011-0765, online at http://www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred 
method); by e-mail to [email protected]; by mail 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 3334, 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 Word 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: Kendra Sagoff, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-5591; fax number (202) 564-5603; e-mail address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement Agreement

    The proposed settlement agreement would resolve a lawsuit seeking 
to compel the Administrator to take various actions related to whether 
six areas: (1) Houston-Galveston-Brazoria, (2) Baltimore, (3) New York-
Northern New Jersey-Long Island, (4) Springfield (Western 
Massachusetts), (5) Greater Connecticut, and (6) Boston-Lawrence-
Worcester, which are designated as nonattainment for ozone, attained 
the 1-hour ozone NAAQS by the applicable attainment date.
    The proposed settlement agreement provides various dates by which 
EPA must propose a determination and make a final determination as to 
whether each area previously listed has attained the 1-hour ozone 
standard by its 1-hour ozone attainment date. No later than 15 business 
days following signature on each notice related to a proposed or final 
determination specified in the proposed settlement agreement, EPA is 
required to send the notice to the Office of the Federal Register for 
review and publication in the Federal Register. After EPA fulfills all 
of its obligations under the agreement Sierra Club and EPA agree to 
file a joint motion for dismissal, with prejudice.
    For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication 
of this notice, the Agency will accept 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 that consent to this settlement 
agreement should be withdrawn, the terms of the agreement will be 
affirmed.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement 
Agreement

A. How can I get a copy of the settlement agreement?

    The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2011-0765) 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.
    An electronic version of the public docket is available through 
http://www.regulations.gov. You may use 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, key in the appropriate docket identification number then select 
``search''.
    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.


[[Page 58509]]


    Dated: September 13, 2011.
Kevin McLean,
Acting Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2011-24276 Filed 9-20-11; 8:45 am]
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