[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 36 (Friday, February 22, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 5672-5673]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-03108]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2018-0818; FRL-9989-74-OGC]


Proposed Partial Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed partial consent decree; request for public 
comment.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as 
amended (``CAA'' or the ``Act''), notice is given of a proposed partial 
consent decree in Sierra Club v. Pruitt, No. 1:17-cv-02174-APM 
(D.D.C.). On October 19, 2017, Sierra Club filed a complaint in the 
United States District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging 
that the Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection 
Agency (``EPA'') failed to perform a non-discretionary duty to assess 
and report to Congress on the environmental and resource conservation 
impacts of the Energy Independence and Security Act's (EISA) Renewable 
Fuel Standard (RFS) program, failed to complete the required anti-
backsliding study to determine whether the vehicle and engine air 
pollutant emissions changes resulting from the RFS program's renewable 
fuel volumes adversely impact air quality, and failed to promulgate 
fuel regulations to implement appropriate measures to mitigate any such 
adverse impacts or make a determination that such regulations were 
unnecessary. The proposed partial consent decree would establish a 
deadline for EPA to take action on the anti-backsliding study.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed partial consent decree must be 
received by March 25, 2019.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2018-0818, online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method). 
For comments submitted at www.regulations.gov, follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from www.regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any 
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA 
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located 
outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web, cloud, or other 
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, please contact 
the person identified in the For Further Information Contact section. 
For the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or 
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective 
comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Seth Buchsbaum, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-2484; email address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Partial Consent Decree

    The proposed partial consent decree would partially resolve a 
lawsuit filed by Sierra Club seeking to compel the Administrator to 
take action under the Clean Air Act to complete a study to determine 
whether the vehicle and engine air pollutant emissions changes 
resulting from the RFS program's renewable fuel volumes adversely 
impact air quality (Anti-backsliding Study), and either promulgate fuel 
regulations to implement appropriate measures to mitigate any such 
adverse impacts or make a determination that such regulations are 
unnecessary (Follow-up Action).
    Under the terms of the proposed partial consent decree, EPA shall

[[Page 5673]]

complete the Anti-backsliding Study on or before March 30, 2020. In 
addition, within three months of completing the Anti-backsliding Study, 
if the parties cannot reach an agreement on a deadline for the Follow-
up Action, they will promptly submit a joint motion (or, if the Parties 
are unable to agree, separate motions) to govern further proceedings.
    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 partial 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 
partial 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.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Partial 
Consent Decree

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

    The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2018-0818) contains a copy of the proposed partial 
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 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 website 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: January 30, 2019.
Gautam Srinivasan,
Acting Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2019-03108 Filed 2-21-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P