Environmental Protection Agency March 28, 2013 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as amended (``CAA'' or the ``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a proposed settlement agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by Louisiana Environmental Action Network and Sierra Club in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia: Louisiana Environmental Action Network and Sierra Club v. Jackson, Case No. 12- 1096 (D.D.C.) (``LEAN v. Jackson''). Plaintiffs filed this suit to compel the Administrator to respond to two administrative petitions (the ``June 2010 petition'' and the ``May 2011 petition'') requesting, among other things, that EPA object to CAA Title V operating permits issued by the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality to Consolidated Environmental Management, Inc. Nucor Steel Louisiana for a pig iron manufacturing process and for a direct reduced iron manufacturing process in St. James Parish, Louisiana. Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, EPA would agree to sign an order granting or denying one objection (``Specific Objection I'') in the May 2011 petition under 42 U.S.C. 7661d(b)(2) by April 29, 2013, and to sign an order or orders granting or denying the June 2010 petition and May 2011 petition (except for Specific Objection I) under 42 U.S.C. 7661d(b)(2) by October 17, 2013.

EPA is taking final action to withdraw its previous approvals of state implementation plan revisions submitted by the State of California to meet the vehicle-miles-traveled emissions offset requirement under the Clean Air Act for the Los Angeles-South Coast Air Basin 1-hour and 8-hour ozone nonattainment areas. EPA is also taking final action to disapprove the same plan revisions. EPA is finalizing the withdrawal and disapproval actions in response to a remand by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Association of Irritated Residents v. EPA. The effect of this action is to trigger deadlines by which new plan revisions meeting the applicable requirements must be submitted by the State of California and approved by EPA to avoid sanctions and to avoid an obligation on EPA to promulgate a federal implementation plan.

EPA is taking direct final action to approve a revision to the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) portion of the California State Implementation Plan (SIP). This revision concerns volatile organic compounds (VOC) from organic liquid storage. We are approving a local rule that regulates these emission sources under the Clean Air Act (CAA or the Act).