Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit, 4866-4867 [2017-00942]

Download as PDF 4866 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 17, 2017 / Notices New Jersey DEP; North Dakota; Texas; West Virginia; Wisconsin; Wyoming; UARG; and Westar Energy. APA section 705 provides, ‘‘When an agency finds that justice so requires, it may postpone the effective date of action taken by it, pending judicial review.’’ 5 U.S.C. 705. Under CAA section 307(d)(7)(B), the EPA may stay the effectiveness of a rule while it is being reconsidered ‘‘for a period not to exceed three months.’’ The EPA received 22 petitions for an administrative stay under APA section 705 and CAA section 307(d)(7)(B). The EPA received petitions from West Virginia and a group of 15 other states; Ameren; Basin; Business Associations; Denbury; Kansas DHE; Mississippi DEQ; Mississippi PSC; Montana; NAFO; National Mining Association; Nebraska; New Jersey DEP; North Dakota; NorthWestern Energy; Peabody Energy Corporation; Prairie State; Texas; UARG; and Westar Energy. The EPA responded to several of these petitions by letters stating that we were not taking action on them in light of the stay imposed on the rule by the U.S. Supreme Court on February 7, 2016. Subsequently, the EPA sent letters to all the petitioners denying each of these petitions for the reasons explained in the memorandum referred to above, ‘‘Basis for Denial of Petitions to Reconsider and Petitions to Stay the CAA Section 111(d) Emission Guidelines for Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Compliance Times for Electric Utility Generating Units.’’ Dated: January 11, 2017. Gina McCarthy, Administrator. [FR Doc. 2017–00941 Filed 1–13–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA–HQ–OGC–2016–0719; FRL–9958–39– OGC] Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). ACTION: Notice of proposed consent decree; request for public comment. sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES AGENCY: In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (‘‘CAA’’ or the ‘‘Act’’), notice is hereby given of a proposed consent decree to address a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Center for Environmental Health (collectively ‘‘Plaintiffs’’) in the United States District SUMMARY: VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:21 Jan 13, 2017 Jkt 241001 Court for the Northern District of California: Center for Biological Diversity, et al. v. McCarthy, No. 3:16– cv–03796–VC (N.D. Cal.). On July 7, 2016, Plaintiffs filed a complaint in this lawsuit alleging that Gina McCarthy, in her official capacity as Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (‘‘EPA’’), failed to perform nondiscretionary duties under the CAA to complete periodic reviews of the air quality criteria and the primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (‘‘NAAQS’’) for sulfur oxides (‘‘SOX’’) and the primary NAAQS for oxides of nitrogen (‘‘NOX’’), to make such revisions to those air quality criteria and NAAQS as may be appropriate, and to promulgate such new NAAQS as may be appropriate. The proposed consent decree would establish deadlines for EPA to take certain, specified actions. DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received by February 16, 2017. ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA– HQ–OGC–2016–0719, online at www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments cannot be edited or removed from 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). If you would like to submit a comment using a different submission method, please contact the person listed 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 https:// www2.epa.gov/dockets/commentingepa-dockets. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melina Williams, Air and Radiation Law Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; telephone: (202) 564–3406; fax number: (202) 564–5603; email address: williams.melina@ epa.gov. PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree Under section 109(d) of the CAA, EPA is required to periodically review air quality criteria and NAAQS and to make such revisions as may be appropriate. The proposed consent decree addresses a lawsuit filed by Plaintiffs alleging that EPA failed to timely complete certain periodic reviews for NOX and SOX by the deadline set forth in the CAA. The proposed consent decree would establish deadlines for EPA to take certain, specified actions in the periodic reviews, and if appropriate, revisions of the air quality criteria addressing human health effects of SOX, and the primary NAAQS for NOX and SOX. Under the terms of the proposed consent decree, EPA would: (1) Sign a notice setting forth its proposed decision concerning its review of the primary NAAQS for NOX no later than July 14, 2017; (2) sign a notice setting forth its final decision concerning its review of the primary NAAQS for NOX no later than April 6, 2018; (3) issue a final Integrated Science Assessment (a document containing air quality criteria) addressing human health effects of SOX no later than December 14, 2017; (4) sign a notice setting forth its proposed decision concerning its review of the primary NAAQS for SOX no later than May 25, 2018; and (5) sign a notice setting forth its final decision concerning its review of the primary NAAQS for SOX no later than January 28, 2019. See the proposed consent decree for additional details. 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 consent decree from persons who were 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 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. Unless EPA or the Department of Justice determines that consent to this consent decree should be withdrawn, the terms of the decree will be affirmed. 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. E:\FR\FM\17JAN1.SGM 17JAN1 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 10 / Tuesday, January 17, 2017 / Notices sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with NOTICES EPA–HQ–OGC–2016–0719) 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. 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 to 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 VerDate Sep<11>2014 18:21 Jan 13, 2017 Jkt 241001 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 Web site 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 6, 2017. Lorie J. Schmidt, Associate General Counsel. [FR Doc. 2017–00942 Filed 1–13–17; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6560–50–P ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY [EPA–HQ–OAR–2016–0017; FRL9958–38– OAR] California State Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Standards; Amendments to On-Highway HeavyDuty Vehicle In-Use Compliance Program, Amendments to 2007 and Subsequent Model Year On-Highway Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles, and Amendments to Truck Requirements; Notice of Decision Environmental Protection Agency. ACTION: Notice of decision. AGENCY: The Environmental Protection Agency (‘‘EPA’’) is granting the California Air Resources Board’s (‘‘CARB’s’’) request for a waiver of Clean Air Act preemption for its On-Highway Heavy-Duty Vehicle In-Use Compliance SUMMARY: PO 00000 Frm 00030 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 4867 program (‘‘In-Use Regulation’’). EPA is also confirming that CARB’s amendments to its 2007 and Subsequent Model Year On-Highway Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles regulation (‘‘2007 Amendments’’) and CARB’s amendments to its Truck Idling requirements (‘‘Truck Idling Amendments’’) are within the scope of previous waivers issued by EPA. The InUse Regulation establishes a manufacturer-run in-use compliance program using portable emission measurement systems (‘‘PEMS’’). The 2007 Amendments specify the NOX emission standard for heavy- and medium-duty diesel engines to two significant figures and provide manufacturers the option to certify chassis-certified diesel vehicles within the phase-in compliance provisions of the 2007 and Subsequent Model Year On-Highway Heavy-Duty Engines and Vehicles regulation. The Truck Idling Amendments exempt armored cars and workover rigs (a mobile self-propelled rig used to perform remedial operations on producing oil or gas wells to restore or increase well production) from the new engine requirements of the preexisting California Truck Idling regulation. This decision is issued under the authority of the Clean Air Act (‘‘CAA’’ or ‘‘the Act’’). DATES: Petitions for review must be filed by March 20, 2017. ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID EPA–HQ–OAR–2016–0017. All documents relied upon in making this decision, including those submitted to EPA by CARB, are contained in the public docket. Publicly available docket materials are available either electronically through www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the Air and Radiation Docket in the EPA Headquarters Library, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue NW., Washington, DC. The Public Reading Room is open to the public on all federal government working days from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.; generally, it is open Monday through Friday, excluding holidays. The telephone number for the Reading Room is (202) 566–1744. The Air and Radiation Docket and Information Center’s Web site is https://www.epa.gov/ oar/docket.html. The email address for the Air and Radiation Docket is: a-andr-docket@epa.gov, the telephone number is (202) 566–1742, and the fax number is (202) 566–9744. An electronic version of the public docket is available through the federal government’s electronic public docket and comment system at https:// E:\FR\FM\17JAN1.SGM 17JAN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 10 (Tuesday, January 17, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4866-4867]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-00942]


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

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2016-0719; FRL-9958-39-OGC]


Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed 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 hereby given of a proposed 
consent decree to address a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological 
Diversity and the 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. 
McCarthy, No. 3:16-cv-03796-VC (N.D. Cal.). On July 7, 2016, Plaintiffs 
filed a complaint in this lawsuit alleging that Gina McCarthy, in her 
official capacity as Administrator of the United States Environmental 
Protection Agency (``EPA''), failed to perform nondiscretionary duties 
under the CAA to complete periodic reviews of the air quality criteria 
and the primary National Ambient Air Quality Standards (``NAAQS'') for 
sulfur oxides (``SOX'') and the primary NAAQS for oxides of 
nitrogen (``NOX''), to make such revisions to those air 
quality criteria and NAAQS as may be appropriate, and to promulgate 
such new NAAQS as may be appropriate. The proposed consent decree would 
establish deadlines for EPA to take certain, specified actions.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by February 16, 2017.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2016-0719, online at www.regulations.gov. Once submitted, comments 
cannot be edited or removed from 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). If you would like to submit a comment using a 
different submission method, please contact the person listed 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 https://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Melina Williams, Air and Radiation Law 
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW., Washington, DC 20460; 
telephone: (202) 564-3406; fax number: (202) 564-5603; email address: 
williams.melina@epa.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree

    Under section 109(d) of the CAA, EPA is required to periodically 
review air quality criteria and NAAQS and to make such revisions as may 
be appropriate. The proposed consent decree addresses a lawsuit filed 
by Plaintiffs alleging that EPA failed to timely complete certain 
periodic reviews for NOX and SOX by the deadline 
set forth in the CAA. The proposed consent decree would establish 
deadlines for EPA to take certain, specified actions in the periodic 
reviews, and if appropriate, revisions of the air quality criteria 
addressing human health effects of SOX, and the primary 
NAAQS for NOX and SOX. Under the terms of the 
proposed consent decree, EPA would: (1) Sign a notice setting forth its 
proposed decision concerning its review of the primary NAAQS for 
NOX no later than July 14, 2017; (2) sign a notice setting 
forth its final decision concerning its review of the primary NAAQS for 
NOX no later than April 6, 2018; (3) issue a final 
Integrated Science Assessment (a document containing air quality 
criteria) addressing human health effects of SOX no later 
than December 14, 2017; (4) sign a notice setting forth its proposed 
decision concerning its review of the primary NAAQS for SOX 
no later than May 25, 2018; and (5) sign a notice setting forth its 
final decision concerning its review of the primary NAAQS for 
SOX no later than January 28, 2019. See the proposed consent 
decree for additional details.
    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 consent decree from persons who were 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 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. Unless EPA or the Department of 
Justice determines that consent to this consent decree should be 
withdrawn, the terms of the decree will be affirmed.

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.

[[Page 4867]]

EPA-HQ-OGC-2016-0719) 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.
    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 to 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 Web site 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 6, 2017.
Lorie J. Schmidt,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2017-00942 Filed 1-13-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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