Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Water Act Claim, 22140-22141 [2024-06661]
Download as PDF
22140
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 62 / Friday, March 29, 2024 / Notices
allocated per speaker will depend on
the number of requests received but will
not exceed five minutes. Requests for
oral statements must be received at least
seven days prior to the meeting. Those
not able to attend the meeting or having
insufficient time to address the Council
are invited to send a written statement
to nancy.johnson@hq.doe.gov. Any
member of the public who wishes to file
a written statement to the Council will
be permitted to do so, either before or
after the meeting.
Minutes: The minutes of the meeting
will be available at https://
www.energy.gov/fecm/nationalpetroleum-council-npc, or by contacting
Ms. Johnson. She may be reached at the
postal address or email address listed
previously.
Signing Authority: This document of
the Department of Energy was signed on
March 25, 2024, by David Borak, Deputy
Committee Management Officer,
pursuant to delegated authority from the
Secretary of Energy. That document
with the original signature and date is
maintained by DOE. For administrative
purposes only, and in compliance with
requirements of the Office of the Federal
Register, the undersigned DOE Federal
Register Liaison Officer has been
authorized to sign and submit the
document in electronic format for
publication, as an official document of
the Department of Energy. This
administrative process in no way alters
the legal effect of this document upon
publication in the Federal Register.
Signed in Washington, DC, on March 26,
2024.
Treena V. Garrett,
Federal Register Liaison Officer, U.S.
Department of Energy.
[FR Doc. 2024–06708 Filed 3–28–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed consent
decree; request for public comment.
AGENCY:
[FRL OP–OFA–119]
Environmental Impact Statements;
Notice of Availability
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
[FR Doc. 2024–06695 Filed 3–28–24; 8:45 am]
Proposed Consent Decree, Clean
Water Act Claim
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
Responsible Agency: Office of Federal
Activities, General Information 202–
564–5632 or https://www.epa.gov/nepa.
Weekly receipt of Environmental Impact
Statements (EIS)
Filed March 18, 2024 10 a.m. EST
Through March 25, 2024 10 a.m. EST
Pursuant to 40 CFR 1506.9.
Notice: Section 309(a) of the Clean Air
Act requires that EPA make public its
comments on EISs issued by other
Federal agencies. EPA’s comment letters
on EISs are available at: https://
16:49 Mar 28, 2024
Dated: March 25, 2024.
Cindy S. Barger,
Director, NEPA Compliance Division, Office
of Federal Activities.
[EPA–HQ–OGC–2024–0145; FRL–11854–01–
OGC]
BILLING CODE 6450–01–P
VerDate Sep<11>2014
cdxapps.epa.gov/cdx-enepa-II/public/
action/eis/search.
EIS No. 20240052, Final, NCPC, DC,
ADOPTION—Proposed Land
Acquisition at Washington Navy
Yard, Washington, DC, Review Period
Ends: 04/29/2024, Contact: Matthew
Flis 202–482–7236.
The National Capital Planning
Commission (NCPC) has adopted the
United States Navy’s Final EIS No.
20230093 filed 07/28/2023 with the
Environmental Protection Agency. The
NCPC was not a cooperating agency on
this project. Therefore, republication of
the document is necessary under section
1506.3(b)(1) of the CEQ regulations.
EIS No. 20240053, Draft Supplement,
USACE, MD, Mid-Chesapeake Bay
Island Ecosystem Restoration Project:
James Island, Dorchester County,
Maryland, Comment Period Ends: 05/
15/2024, Contact: Angela Sowers 410–
962–7440.
EIS No. 20240054, Final, BIA, CA,
Redding Rancheria Fee-to-Trust and
Casino, Review Period Ends: 04/29/
2024, Contact: Chad Broussard 916–
978–6165.
EIS No. 20240055, Final, FTA, CA, West
Santa Ana Branch Transit Corridor
Final EIS/EIR, Review Period Ends:
04/29/2024, Contact: Rusty Whisman
213–202–3956.
Jkt 262001
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 Sierra
Club, et al. v. EPA, et al., No. 3:24–cv–
00130 (S.D.W. Va. 2024). On March 18,
2024, the Sierra Club, the West Virginia
Highlands Conservancy, Inc., and the
West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Inc.
SUMMARY:
PO 00000
Frm 00025
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
(collectively, ‘‘Plaintiffs’’) filed a
complaint in the United States District
Court for the Southern District of West
Virginia against EPA alleging that the
Agency failed to perform a mandatory
duty under the Clean Water Act (CWA)
to establish Total Maximum Daily Loads
(TMDLs) for certain waters located in
the Lower Guyandotte River Watershed
in West Virginia that are impaired due
to ionic toxicity. This complaint
followed Plaintiffs’ submission to EPA
of a Notice of Intent to Sue on March 21,
2023. 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 April 29, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments,
identified by Docket ID No. EPA–HQ–
OGC–2024–0145 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: Alec
Mullee, Water Law Office, Office of
General Counsel, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency; telephone: (202)
564–9616; email address: mullee.alec@
epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the
Proposed Consent Decree
On March 18, 2024, Plaintiffs filed a
complaint in Federal district court
asserting that EPA failed to perform a
mandatory duty under the CWA to
establish TMDLs for certain waters
located in the Lower Guyandotte River
Watershed in West Virginia that are
biologically impaired due to ionic
toxicity (Ionic Toxicity TMDLs). This
complaint followed Plaintiffs’
submission to EPA of a Notice of Intent
to Sue (NOI) on March 21, 2023.
Following submission of the NOI,
Plaintiffs and EPA initiated settlement
discussions, which resulted in the
proposed consent decree. Under the
consent decree, EPA would be obligated
to establish Ionic Toxicity TMDLs for 11
waterbody segments in the Lower
Guyandotte River Watershed by January
E:\FR\FM\29MRN1.SGM
29MRN1
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 62 / Friday, March 29, 2024 / Notices
15, 2025. In exchange, Plaintiffs would
permanently release any and all claims
against EPA that the Agency must
establish ionic toxicity TMDLs for any
other waterbody segments within the
Lower Guyandotte River Watershed
except for six identified waterbody
segments and any waterbody segments
that are listed as biologically impaired
for the first time after June 1, 2023. For
those six waterbody segments and any
waterbody segments listed as
biologically impaired for the first time
after June 1, 2023, Plaintiffs would
refrain from bringing any such claims
against EPA until January 15, 2039.
Further, Plaintiffs would not bring such
claims against EPA for any West
Virginia waterbody segment outside the
Lower Guyandotte River Watershed
until after January 15, 2025.
For a period of thirty (30) days
following the date of publication of this
notice, EPA will accept written
comments relating to the proposed
consent decree from persons who are
not parties to the litigation. 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.
khammond on DSKJM1Z7X2PROD with NOTICES
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–2024–0145) 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
VerDate Sep<11>2014
16:49 Mar 28, 2024
Jkt 262001
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–2024–
0145 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-epadockets. 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,
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
PO 00000
Frm 00026
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
22141
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 does not plan to
consider these late comments.
Steven M. Neugeboren,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2024–06661 Filed 3–28–24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560–50–P
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
AGENCY
[EPA–HQ–OGC–2024–0149; FRL–11857–01–
OGC]
Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air
Act Citizen Suit
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed consent
decree; request for public comment.
AGENCY:
In accordance with the Clean
Air Act, as amended (‘‘CAA’’ or ‘‘the
Act’’), the Environmental Protection
Agency (‘‘EPA’’ or ‘‘the Agency’’) is
providing notice of a proposed consent
decree in Sierra Club, et al. v. United
States Environmental Protection
Agency, et al., No. 1:23–cv–01744–JDB
(D. DC). Plaintiffs Sierra Club, National
Parks Conservation Association, and
Environmental Integrity Project
(collectively, ‘‘Plaintiffs’’), brought suit
in the United States District Court for
the District of Columbia alleging that
and the U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency (‘‘EPA’’) and Michael Regan, in
his official capacity as Administrator of
the U.S. EPA (‘‘the Administrator’’)
(collectively, ‘‘Defendants’’), failed to
take final action on the second planning
period regional haze state
implementation plan (‘‘SIP’’) revisions
submitted by the following 34 states:
Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California,
Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware,
Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho,
Indiana, Kansas, Maryland,
Massachusetts, Michigan, Montana,
Nevada, New Hampshire, New York,
North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio,
Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina,
South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah,
Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin,
and Wyoming. There are three
intervenors in this action. PacifiCorp is
acting as an intervenor-plaintiff and the
State of North Dakota and the State of
Nevada are acting as intervenordefendants. The proposed consent
decree would establish deadlines for the
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\29MRN1.SGM
29MRN1
Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 62 (Friday, March 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22140-22141]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-06661]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OGC-2024-0145; FRL-11854-01-OGC]
Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Water Act Claim
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed consent decree; request for public comment.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 Sierra
Club, et al. v. EPA, et al., No. 3:24-cv-00130 (S.D.W. Va. 2024). On
March 18, 2024, the Sierra Club, the West Virginia Highlands
Conservancy, Inc., and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition, Inc.
(collectively, ``Plaintiffs'') filed a complaint in the United States
District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia against EPA
alleging that the Agency failed to perform a mandatory duty under the
Clean Water Act (CWA) to establish Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)
for certain waters located in the Lower Guyandotte River Watershed in
West Virginia that are impaired due to ionic toxicity. This complaint
followed Plaintiffs' submission to EPA of a Notice of Intent to Sue on
March 21, 2023. 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 April 29, 2024.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2024-0145 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: Alec Mullee, Water Law Office, Office
of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; telephone:
(202) 564-9616; email address: [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree
On March 18, 2024, Plaintiffs filed a complaint in Federal district
court asserting that EPA failed to perform a mandatory duty under the
CWA to establish TMDLs for certain waters located in the Lower
Guyandotte River Watershed in West Virginia that are biologically
impaired due to ionic toxicity (Ionic Toxicity TMDLs). This complaint
followed Plaintiffs' submission to EPA of a Notice of Intent to Sue
(NOI) on March 21, 2023. Following submission of the NOI, Plaintiffs
and EPA initiated settlement discussions, which resulted in the
proposed consent decree. Under the consent decree, EPA would be
obligated to establish Ionic Toxicity TMDLs for 11 waterbody segments
in the Lower Guyandotte River Watershed by January
[[Page 22141]]
15, 2025. In exchange, Plaintiffs would permanently release any and all
claims against EPA that the Agency must establish ionic toxicity TMDLs
for any other waterbody segments within the Lower Guyandotte River
Watershed except for six identified waterbody segments and any
waterbody segments that are listed as biologically impaired for the
first time after June 1, 2023. For those six waterbody segments and any
waterbody segments listed as biologically impaired for the first time
after June 1, 2023, Plaintiffs would refrain from bringing any such
claims against EPA until January 15, 2039. Further, Plaintiffs would
not bring such claims against EPA for any West Virginia waterbody
segment outside the Lower Guyandotte River Watershed until after
January 15, 2025.
For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication
of this notice, EPA will accept written comments relating to the
proposed consent decree from persons who are not parties to the
litigation. 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-2024-0145) 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-2024-
0145 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.
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 does not plan to consider these late
comments.
Steven M. Neugeboren,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2024-06661 Filed 3-28-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P