[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 197 (Friday, October 15, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 57423-57425]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-22519]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2021-0692; FRL-9132-01-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 the Clean Air Act, as amended (CAA or the 
Act), notice is given of a proposed consent decree in Downwinders at 
Risk et al. v. Regan, No. 21-cv-03551 (N.D. Cal). On May 12, 2021, 
Downwinders at Risk, Sierra Club, Center for Biological Diversity, Air 
Alliance Houston, Texas Environmental Justice Advocacy Services, Clean 
Wisconsin, Appalachian Mountain Club, Earthworks, Natural Resources 
Defense Council, and Environmental Defense Fund (Plaintiffs) filed a 
complaint in the United States District Court for the Northern District 
of California alleging that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or 
the Agency) failed to perform certain non-discretionary duties in 
accordance with the Act to take final action to approve or disapprove, 
in whole or in part, 32 state implementation plan submissions (SIPs) 
addressing interstate pollution transport for the 2015 ozone national 
ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) by statutory deadlines. The 
proposed consent decree would establish deadlines for EPA to act on 
these SIP submissions.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by November 15, 2021.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2021-0692, online at https://www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred 
method). Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
    Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID 
number for this action. Comments received may be posted without change 
to https://www.regulations.gov, including any personal information 
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional 
information on the rulemaking process, see the

[[Page 57424]]

``Additional Information about Commenting on the Proposed Consent 
Decree'' heading under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this 
document. Out of an abundance of caution for members of the public and 
our staff, the EPA Docket Center and Reading Room are closed to the 
public, with limited exceptions, to reduce the risk of transmitting 
COVID-19. Our Docket Center staff will continue to provide remote 
customer service via email, phone, and webform. We encourage the public 
to submit comments via https://www.regulations.gov, as there may be a 
delay in processing mail and faxes. Hand-deliveries and couriers may be 
received by scheduled appointment only. For further information on EPA 
Docket Center services and the current status, please visit us online 
at https://www.epa.gov/dockets.
    EPA continues to carefully and continuously monitor information 
from the CDC, local area health departments, and our federal partners 
so that we can respond rapidly as conditions change regarding COVID-19.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rosemary E. Hambright, Air and 
Radiation Law Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, 
DC 20460; telephone (202) 564-8829; email address 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Obtaining a Copy of the Proposed Consent Decree

    The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID 
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2021-0692) contains a copy of the proposed consent 
decree.
    The electronic version of the public docket for this action 
contains a copy of the proposed consent decree and is available through 
https://www.regulations.gov. You may use https://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.''

II. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    The proposed consent decree would establish deadlines for EPA to 
take action pursuant to CAA section 110(k) on certain SIP submissions 
addressing the requirements of CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I), 42 
U.S.C. 7410(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) (the good neighbor or interstate transport 
provision), to resolve a lawsuit filed by the Plaintiffs. Plaintiffs 
alleged that the EPA failed to perform certain non-discretionary duties 
in accordance with the Act to take final action to approve or 
disapprove, in whole or in part, SIPs addressing interstate pollution 
transport for the 2015 ozone national ambient air quality standards 
(NAAQS) by statutory deadlines for the following states: Alabama, 
Arizona, Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, 
Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, 
Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New 
Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, 
Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
    Pursuant to CAA section 110(k), 42 U.S.C. 7410(k), SIP submissions 
are deemed complete by operation of law 6 months after receipt by EPA. 
EPA must approve or disapprove, in whole or in a part, SIP submissions 
within 12 months of the SIP submissions being deemed complete.
    The proposed consent decree would require the EPA, pursuant to CAA 
section 110(k)(2)-(4), 42 U.S.C. 7410(k)(2)-(4), to take final action 
to approve or disapprove, in whole or in part, the portion of 2015 
ozone NAAQS SIP submissions addressing the good neighbor provision from 
the 32 states listed above.
    Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, no later than April 
30, 2022, EPA shall sign a notice of a final rule to approve, 
disapprove, conditionally approve, or approve in part and conditionally 
approve or disapprove in part, the 2015 ozone NAAQS interstate 
transport SIP submissions from Alabama, Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, 
Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, 
Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, New Jersey, New 
York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, 
West Virginia, and Wisconsin. However, under the proposed consent 
decree, if EPA proposes to disapprove any of these SIP submissions and 
proposes a 2015 ozone NAAQS interstate transport federal implementation 
plan for such states by February 28, 2022, then EPA shall take final 
action on those SIP submissions by December 15, 2022.
    In addition, under the terms of the proposed consent decree, no 
later than April 30, 2022, EPA shall sign a notice of a final rule to 
approve, disapprove, conditionally approve, or approve in part and 
conditionally approve or disapprove in part, the 2015 ozone NAAQS 
interstate transport SIP submission from Hawaii. Also, under the terms 
of the proposed consent decree, no later than December 15, 2022, EPA 
shall sign a notice of a final rule to approve, disapprove, 
conditionally approve, or approve in part and conditionally approve or 
disapprove in part, the 2015 ozone NAAQS interstate transport SIP 
submissions from Arizona, California, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming.
    In accordance with section 113(g) of the CAA, for a period of 
thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this document, 
the Agency will accept written comments relating to the proposed 
consent decree. 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.

III. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent 
Decree

    Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2021-
0692, via https://www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from this docket. EPA may publish any comment 
received to its public docket. Do not submit to EPA's docket at https://www.regulations.gov 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. 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, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or 
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective 
comments, please visit https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets. For additional information about submitting information 
identified as CBI, please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER 
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. Note that written 
comments containing CBI and submitted by mail may be delayed and 
deliveries or couriers will be

[[Page 57425]]

received by scheduled appointment only.
    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. 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 https://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.
    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.

Gautam Srinivasan,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2021-22519 Filed 10-14-21; 8:45 am]
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