[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 153 (Thursday, August 8, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64916-64917]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-17580]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2024-0319; FRL-12102-01-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 to address a lawsuit 
filed by Center for Biological Diversity, Sierra Club, and Center for 
Environmental Health (collectively, Plaintiffs) in the United States 
District Court for the Northern District of California: Center for 
Biological Diversity, et al. v. Michael S. Regan, in his official 
capacity the Administrator of the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency, No. 3:23-cv-04979-RFL (N.D. Cal.). Plaintiffs filed 
a complaint alleging that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
failed to perform a non-discretionary duty under the Act to complete a 
review of the air quality criteria and the primary National Ambient Air 
Quality Standards (NAAQS) for oxides of nitrogen. EPA is providing 
notice of this proposed consent decree, which would resolve all claims 
in the case by establishing deadlines for EPA to take certain actions 
in its review of the air quality criteria and NAAQS for oxides of 
nitrogen, as specified in the decree.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by September 9, 2024.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2024-0319, 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 ``Additional Information 
about Commenting on the Proposed Consent Decree'' heading under the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melina Williams, Air and Radiation Law 
Office, Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency; telephone (202) 564-3406; 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-2024-0319) 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,

[[Page 64917]]

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.
    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 certain actions pursuant to CAA sections 108 and 109 to complete a 
review of the air quality criteria and the primary NAAQS for oxides of 
nitrogen. The proposed consent decree would require EPA to: issue a 
final Integrated Science Assessment, a document containing the air 
quality criteria, addressing human health effects of oxides of nitrogen 
no later than September 30, 2026; sign a notice setting forth its 
proposed decision concerning its review of the primary NAAQS for oxides 
of nitrogen no later than January 17, 2028; sign a notice setting forth 
its final decision concerning its review of the primary NAAQS for 
oxides of nitrogen no later than November 10, 2028; and, within 15 
business days of issuance of the final Integrated Science Assessment, 
signature of the proposed decision, and signature of the final 
decision, respectively, send a notice to the Office of Federal Register 
for review and publication.
    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-2024-
0319, 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 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. 2024-17580 Filed 8-7-24; 8:45 am]
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