[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 12 (Tuesday, January 21, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7133-7135]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01382]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OGC-2025-0019; FRL-12555-01-OGC]
Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Water Act Claim
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed consent decree; request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Administrator's March 18, 2022, memorandum regarding ``Consent Decrees
and Settlement Agreements to resolve Environmental Claims Against the
Agency,'' notice is hereby given of a proposed consent decree in
Delaware Riverkeeper Network et al. v. U.S. EPA et al., Docket No.
2:24-cv-05308 (E.D. Pa.). On October 2, 2024, Delaware Riverkeeper
Network and Maya K. van Rossum, the Delaware Riverkeeper, filed a
complaint in the United States District Court for the Eastern District
of Pennsylvania. The complaint alleges that: the EPA failed to comply
with its mandatory duty under the Clean Water Act (CWA) to promulgate
revised water quality standards to protect aquatic life in the Delaware
River within 90 days of proposal; and the EPA's failure to promulgate
revised water quality standards is an unreasonable delay under the
Administrative Procedure Act. The EPA seeks public input on a proposed
consent decree prior to its final decision-making with regard to
potential settlement of the litigation.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received
by February 20, 2025
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2025-0019 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, see the
``Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent
Decree'' heading under the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this
document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Katie Spidalieri, Water Law Office,
Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency;
telephone: (202) 564-4138; email address: [email protected].
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SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree
While states have the primary responsibility for reviewing,
establishing, and revising water quality standards for their waters,
CWA section 303(c) directs the EPA to promulgate water quality
standards where the EPA Administrator determines that a new or revised
standard is necessary to meet the requirements of the CWA. CWA section
303(c)(4)(B). Such a determination is referred to as an
``Administrator's Determination.''
On December 1, 2022, the EPA issued an Administrator's
Determination for part of the Delaware River in Delaware, New Jersey,
and Pennsylvania pursuant to CWA section 303(c)(4)(B).\1\ The EPA
determined that two types of revised water quality standards are
necessary to meet the requirements of the CWA in the Delaware River:
(1) revised aquatic life designated uses that provide for propagation
of fish; and (2) corresponding dissolved oxygen criteria that protect
the propagation use.
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\1\ The Delaware River is co-managed by multiple states,
including Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, as well as the
Delaware River Basin Commission.
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On December 21, 2023, the EPA proposed revised water quality
standards for an approximately 38-mile stretch of the Delaware River
from river miles 108.4 to 70.0. 88 FR 88315 (December 21, 2023).
Specifically, the EPA proposed a designated use of protection and
propagation of resident and migratory aquatic life along with dissolved
oxygen criteria to protect that use.
On August 2, 2024, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network and the
Delaware Riverkeeper (collectively, Plaintiffs) sent the EPA a 60-day
Notice of Intent to Sue pursuant to CWA section 505(b)(2) alleging the
agency failed to promulgate revised water quality standards for a
stretch of the Delaware River within 90 days of proposing them as
required under CWA section 303(c)(4). On October 2, 2024, the
Plaintiffs filed a complaint against the EPA in the U.S. District Court
for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. The Plaintiffs are seeking a
declaratory judgement that the EPA violated the CWA and the
Administrative Procedure Act by not promulgating revised water quality
standards for the Delaware River within the statutory timeframe at CWA
section 303(c)(4) and an injunction requiring the agency to promulgate
such standards by a date certain.
The parties initiated settlement discussions, which produced the
proposed consent decree.\2\ Under the proposed consent decree, the EPA
Administrator would be required to sign a final rule promulgating
revised water quality standards for miles 108.4 to 70.0 of the Delaware
River on or before June 30, 2025. In addition, the EPA would be
required to file status reports with the court every thirty days after
a consent decree is entered until the final rule is signed.
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\2\ In the litigation, the EPA filed an answer to the
Plaintiffs' complaint on December 9, 2024.
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For a period of thirty days following the date of publication of
this notice, the EPA will accept written comments relating to the
proposed consent decree from persons who are not parties to the
litigation. The EPA or the Department of Justice may withdraw or
withhold consent to the proposed consent decree if the comments
received disclose facts or considerations that indicate that such
consent is inappropriate, improper, inadequate, or inconsistent with
the requirements of the CWA.
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 Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2025-0019) 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, 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.''
B. How and to whom do I submit comments?
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2025-
0019 via https://www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from this docket. The 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. 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, 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.
If you submit an electronic comment, the 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 the EPA to
contact you in case the 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 the EPA cannot read your comment due to technical
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the EPA may not
be able to consider your comment.
Use of the https://www.regulations.gov website to submit comments
to the EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method for receiving
comments. The electronic public docket system is an ``anonymous
access'' system, which means the 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
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marked ``late.'' The EPA does not plan to consider these late comments.
Dawn Messier,
Acting Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2025-01382 Filed 1-17-25; 8:45 am]
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