[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 90 (Friday, May 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Page 27443]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-09825]


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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


Notice of Lodging of Proposed Consent Decree and Environmental 
Settlement Agreement Under the Clean Air Act

    On May 4, 2020, the United States Department of Justice lodged a 
proposed Consent Decree and Environmental Settlement Agreement 
(``Settlement Agreement'') in In re PES Holdings, LLC, et al., Civil 
Action No. 19-11626 (Bankr. D. Del.), with the United States Bankruptcy 
Court for the District of Delaware.
    The United States, on behalf of the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency (``EPA''), filed this Settlement Agreement with PES 
Holdings, LLC and its Debtor Affiliates (collectively the ``Debtors''), 
including Debtor Philadelphia Energy Solutions Refining and Marketing 
LLC (``PESRM''), to resolve a dispute about the obligations and 
liabilities of PESRM and related parties under the Clean Air Act's 
(``CAA'') Renewable Fuel Standard (``RFS'') program, which requires 
refiners to blend renewable fuels into gasoline or diesel fuel or 
obtain Renewable Identification Numbers (``RINs'') to meet Renewable 
Volume Obligations (``RVOs'') and a 2018 Consent Decree and 
Environmental Settlement Agreement in In re PES Holdings, LLC, et. al., 
Case No. 18-10122 (KG) (``2018 Consent Decree'').
    Under the Settlement Agreement, Debtors have agreed to purchase and 
retire up to 161,830,963 Quality Assurance Plan (``QAP'') verified Q-
RINs to resolve Debtors' RINs liability under the 2018 Consent Decree 
and the CAA's RFS program. A Q-RIN is a type of RIN that a registered 
independent third-party auditor verified using an approved QAP, and in 
accordance with the audit process laid out in 40 CFR 80.1472. See 40 
CFR 80.1401. The Debtors' Chapter 11 Plan (``Plan'') establishes a 
Liquidating Trust, which will, among other things, purchase and retire 
Q-RINs within 90 days of the Effective Date of the Settlement Agreement 
or the Plan, whichever occurs later, subject to an actual price paid 
cap of $10 million as provided in the Settlement Agreement. If PESRM, 
any Debtor, or the Liquidating Trust, receives an Excise Tax Refund 
from the United States, the Liquidating Trust will purchase and retire 
any remaining RIN balance within 90 days of receiving the refund; this 
is subject to the limitation that the Liquidating Trust's RIN 
retirement obligation ends when the Liquidating Trust has (a) retired 
the full amount of 161,830,963 Q-RINs, (b) purchased and retired $22 
million worth of Q-RINs, or (c) purchased and retired $10 million worth 
of Q-RINs plus the number of Q-RINs worth the Excise Tax Refund from 
the United States if the refund is less than $12 million.
    The publication of this notice opens a period for public comment on 
the Settlement Agreement. Comments should be addressed to the Section 
Chief, Environment and Natural Resources Division, Environmental 
Enforcement Section, and should refer to In re PES Holdings, LLC, et 
al., Civil Action No. 19-11626 (Bankr. D. Del.), DOJ Number 90-5-2-1-
10993/2. All comments must be submitted no later than fifteen (15) days 
after the publication date of this notice. Comments may be submitted 
either by email or by mail:

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         To submit comments:                     Send them to:
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By email............................  [email protected].
By mail.............................  Section Chief,
                                      U.S. DOJ--ENRD--EES,
                                      P.O. Box 7611,
                                      Washington, DC 20044-7611.
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    During the public comment period, the Settlement Agreement may be 
examined and downloaded at this Justice Department website: https://www.justice.gov/enrd/consent-decrees. We will provide a paper copy of 
the Settlement Agreement upon written request and payment of 
reproduction costs. Please mail your request and payment to: Consent 
Decree Library, U.S. DOJ--ENRD, P.O. Box 7611, Washington, DC 20044-
7611.
    Please enclose a check or money order for $6.25 (25 cents per page 
reproduction cost) payable to the United States Treasury.

Jeffrey Sands,
Assistant Section Chief, Environmental Enforcement Section, Environment 
and Natural Resources Division.
[FR Doc. 2020-09825 Filed 5-7-20; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4410-15-P