[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 141 (Monday, July 23, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 43074-43075]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-17901]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9703-7]


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''), notice is hereby given of a proposed consent decree 
to address a lawsuit filed by Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, et 
al. v. EPA, No. 1:12-cv-00338-ESH (D.D.C). On or about March 2, 2012, 
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy, et al. filed a complaint that EPA 
failed to perform its nondiscretionary duty pursuant to section 
505(b)(2) of the Act, to grant or deny, within 60 days after it was 
filed, a petition (``Shawnee Petition'') requesting that EPA object to 
a proposed title V operating permit for the Tennessee Valley 
Authority's Fossil Plant issued by the Commonwealth of Kentucky 
(``Shawnee Permit''). Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, 
EPA would be required to sign its response to Plaintiffs' petition by 
September 1, 2012.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by August 22, 2012.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2012-0571, online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method); 
by email 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 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: Gretchen Graves, Esq., Air and 
Radiation Law Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., 
Washington, DC 20460; telephone: (202) 564-5581; fax number (202) 564-
5603; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    The proposed consent decree would settle Plaintiffs' claims in a 
title V deadline suit concerning a petition to object to a permit 
issued by the Kentucky Department for Air Quality for the Tennessee 
Valley Authority's Shawnee Fossil Plant. The proposed consent decree 
would require EPA to sign its response to Plaintiffs' petition by 
September 1, 2012. Once EPA has signed its response, EPA would be 
required to promptly deliver notice of its response to the Office of 
the Federal Register for publication. Under the proposed consent 
decree, once EPA has met these obligations, and any claims by 
Plaintiffs for costs of litigation have been resolved pursuant to the 
process provided in the proposed consent decree, the court would 
dismiss the suit with prejudice.
    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 intervenors 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 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-2012-0571 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 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 
www.regulations.gov. You may use the 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 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

[[Page 43075]]

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 email 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 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, email 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 
(email) system is not an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an 
email comment directly to the Docket without going through 
www.regulations.gov, your email 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 16, 2012.
Lorie J. Schmidt,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2012-17901 Filed 7-20-12; 8:45 am]
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