Environmental Protection Agency June 2, 2014 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents
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Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit
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 Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California, in which several states have intervened as plaintiff-interveners: Sierra Club et al. v. McCarthy, Civil Action No. 3:13-cv-3953-SI (N.D. Cal.). On August 26, 2013, Plaintiffs filed a complaint alleging that Gina McCarthy, in her official capacity as Administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA''), failed to take timely nondiscretionary action to promulgate and publish the remaining area designations for the 2010 revised primary national ambient air quality standard (``NAAQS'') for sulfur dioxide (``SO2''). The proposed consent decree would establish deadlines for EPA to take such action.
Identification of Nonattainment Classification and Deadlines for Submission of State Implementation Plan (SIP) Provisions for the 1997 Fine Particle (PM2.5
On January 4, 2013, in Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) v. EPA, the D.C. Circuit Court remanded to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) the ``Final Clean Air Fine Particle Implementation Rule'' (April 25, 2007) (the ``2007 PM2.5 Implementation Rule'') and the ``Implementation of the New Source Review (NSR) Program for Particulate Matter Less than 2.5 Micrometers (PM2.5)'' final rule (May 16, 2008) (the ``2008 PM2.5 NSR Rule''). The Court found that the EPA erred in implementing the 1997 PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) pursuant solely to the general implementation provisions of subpart 1 of Part D of Title I of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act), without also considering the particulate matter-specific provisions of subpart 4 of Part D. The Court's ruling remanded the rules to the EPA to address implementation of the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS under subpart 4. This final rulemaking identifies the classification under subpart 4 for areas currently designated nonattainment for the 1997 and/or 2006 PM2.5 standards, the deadlines for states to submit attainment-related and nonattainment new source review (NNSR) state implementation plan (SIP) elements required for these areas pursuant to subpart 4, and the EPA guidance that is currently available regarding subpart 4 requirements. The final deadlines for 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS attainment-related SIP submissions and NNSR requirements for nonattainment areas would replace previous deadlines that were set solely pursuant to subpart 1. Specifically, the EPA is identifying the initial classification of current 1997 and/or 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS nonattainment areas as ``Moderate,'' and the EPA is setting a deadline of December 31, 2014, for submission of remaining required SIP submissions for these areas, pursuant to and considering the application of subpart 4. This rulemaking affects 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS nonattainment areas. After the careful consideration of the comments received on the proposal, the EPA is planning to finalize the rule as it was proposed. As part of the final rulemaking, the EPA is also updating 40 CFR part 81, ``Designation of Areas for Air Quality Planning Purposes'' for the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS nonattainment areas.
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