[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 244 (Monday, December 21, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79338-79339]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-31995]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2015-0677; FRL-9940-39-OGC]


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 (``CAA'' or the ``Act''), notice is hereby given of a proposed 
consent decree to address a lawsuit filed by Sierra Club and Physicians 
For Social Responsibility--Los Angeles (``Plaintiffs'') in the United 
States District Court for the Central District of California: Sierra 
Club, et al. v. EPA, No. 2:15-cv-3798-ODW (ASx) (C.D. CA.) (filed May 
20, 2015). Plaintiffs filed a lawsuit alleging that Gina McCarthy, in 
her official capacity as Administrator of the United States 
Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') and Jared Blumenfeld, in his 
official capacity as Regional Administrator of the United States 
Environmental Protection Agency, Region IX (collectively, ``EPA''), 
failed to perform duties mandated by CAA to take final action to 
approve or disapprove, in whole or in part, the portions of the South 
Coast Air Quality Management District's Final 2012 Air Quality 
Management Plan that address attainment of the 2006 fine particulate 
matter (``PM2.5'') NAAQS, which California submitted to EPA 
on February 13, 2013. The proposed consent decree would establish 
deadlines for EPA to take certain specified actions. This is the second 
notice provided for this proposed consent decree.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by January 20, 2016.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2015-0677, 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: Geoffrey L. Wilcox, Air and Radiation 
Law Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-5601; 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 
Plaintiffs seeking to compel EPA to take actions required under CAA 
section 110(k)(2)-(4). The Plaintiffs' lawsuit alleged that EPA has a 
mandatory duty to take final action to approve or disapprove, in whole 
or in part, the portions of the South Coast Air Quality Management 
District's Final 2012 Air Quality Management Plan that address 
attainment of the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS. California made this SIP 
submission on February 13, 2013. The submission was complete by 
operation of law on August 13, 2013. Section 110(k)(2) requires EPA to 
take action on a SIP submission within one year of the date it is 
complete. The Plaintiffs allege that EPA had a mandatory duty to take 
action on the submission by August 13, 2014. Under the terms of the 
proposed consent decree, EPA must take final action no later than March 
15, 2016, with respect to this claim. See the proposed consent decree 
for the specific details.
    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 proposed consent decree should 
be withdrawn, the terms of the consent decree will be affirmed. EPA 
published a prior notice of this proposed consent decree on October 21, 
2015. In order to assure that all parties have notice of the proposed 
consent decree, EPA is providing this additional notice and opportunity 
to comment upon the proposed consent decree pursuant to section 113(g).

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent 
Decree

A. How can I get a copy of the proposed consent decree?

    The official public docket for this action (identified by EPA-HQ-
OGC-2015-0677) contains a copy of the proposed consent decree. The 
official public docket is available for public viewing at the Office of 
Environmental

[[Page 79339]]

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 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, 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: December 11, 2015.
Lorie J. Schmidt,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2015-31995 Filed 12-18-15; 8:45 am]
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