[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 173 (Monday, September 8, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 53193-53194]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-21295]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9916-30-OGC]


Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

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 (``CAA'' or the ``Act''), notice is hereby given of a proposed 
consent decree to address a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club in the 
United States District Court for the District of Columbia: Sierra Club 
v. McCarthy, Civil Case No. 1:14-cv-00222 (D.D.C.). On February 17, 
2014, Plaintiff filed a complaint which alleged that Gina McCarthy, in 
her official capacity as Administrator of the United States 
Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA''), failed to perform a 
mandatory duty to promulgate a Federal Implementation Plan (``FIP'') 
for Montana's Prevention of Significant Deterioration (``PSD'') program 
to properly regulate nitrogen oxides as an ozone precursor. The 
proposed consent decree would establish a deadline for EPA to take this 
action.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by October 8, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2014-0627, online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method); 
by email 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: Stephanie Hogan, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection

[[Page 53194]]

Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: 
(202) 564-3244; fax number: (202) 564-5603; email address: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    The proposed consent decree would resolve a lawsuit filed by the 
Sierra Club seeking to compel the Administrator to take action under 
CAA sections 110(c)(1)(A). Under the terms of the proposed consent 
decree, EPA would agree to sign a notice by no later than November 7, 
2014, to promulgate a FIP for Montana's PSD program that addresses 
nitrogen oxides as an ozone precursor. The consent decree further 
provides that EPA shall have complied with this obligation if EPA signs 
by the same date a notice or notices collectively satisfying the PSD 
requirements in CAA section 110(a)(2)(C) and (J) for the 1997 ozone 
NAAQS, including unconditionally approving a state implementation plan 
(``SIP'') or promulgating a partial FIP and unconditionally approving a 
partial SIP.
    Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, EPA will deliver 
notice of the action to the Office of the Federal Register for review 
and publication within 15 business days of signature. In addition, the 
proposed consent decree outlines the procedure for the Plaintiff to 
request costs of litigation, including attorney fees.
    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 consent decree from persons who are 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 this consent decree should be 
withdrawn or withheld, the terms of the consent 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?

    The official public docket for this action (identified by EPA-HQ-
OGC-2014-0627) contains a copy of the proposed 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 on the 
internet (online) through the Web site www.regulations.gov. You may use 
www.regulations.gov to submit or view public comments, access the index 
listing of the contents of the official public docket, and 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 www.regulations.gov without change, unless 
the comment contains copyrighted material, confidential business 
information (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 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: August 26, 2014.
Lorie Schmidt,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2014-21295 Filed 9-5-14; 8:45 am]
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