[Federal Register: March 12, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 48)]
[Notices]
[Page 11886-11887]
[DOCID:fr12mr10-62]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-9126-6]

Proposed Settlement Agreement and Consent Decree, Clean Air Act
Citizen Suit

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of proposed settlement agreement and consent decree;
request for public comment.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as
amended (``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a
proposed settlement agreement and consent decree, to address a lawsuit
filed by Wildearth Guardians: Wildearth Guardians v. Jackson, Civil
Action No. 09-cv-02148-REB-MJW (D. Col.). On or about October 22, 2009,
Wildearth Guardians filed an amended complaint alleging that EPA
Administrator Jackson failed to comply with a mandatory duty to fully
or partially approve or disapprove State Implementation Plan (SIP)
submissions from the States of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Utah
within the time frame required by section 110(k)(2) of the Act and
asking the court to enter judgment providing: (i) A declaration that
EPA has violated and continues to violate the Act by failing to take
final action on the SIP submittals; and, (ii) An injunction compelling
EPA to take final action on the SIP submittals by a date certain with
interim deadlines to assure compliance with the court's order. Under
the terms of the proposed settlement agreement and consent decree, EPA
agrees to sign a proposed action on certain of the SIP submittals by
the date specified for the particular submittal and to take final
action on each of the SIP submittals by the date specified for the
particular submittal.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement and
consent decree must be received by April 12, 2010.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2010-0221, online at www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method);
by e-mail to<EMAIL_ADDRESS>by mail to EPA Docket Center,
Environmental Protection Agency, Mailcode: 2822T, 1200 Pennsylvania
Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460-0001; or by hand delivery or courier to
EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave., NW.,
Washington, DC, between 8:30 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday,
excluding legal holidays. Comments on a disk or CD-ROM should be
formatted in Word or ASCII file, avoiding the use of special characters
and any form of encryption, and may be mailed to the mailing address
above.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rick Vetter, Air and Radiation Law
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone:<PHONE_NUMBER>; fax number<PHONE_NUMBER>; e-mail address:
<EMAIL_ADDRESS>
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

 I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement or Consent
Decree

    On October 22, 2009, Wildearth Guardians, a non-profit conservation
organization, filed an amended complaint in the United States District
Court for the District of Colorado (Civil Action No. 09-cv-02148-REB-
MJW). In the amended complaint, Wildearth Guardians alleges that EPA
has failed to take action to approve or disapprove, in whole or in
part, a number of State Implementation Plan (``SIP'') submissions from
the States of Colorado, Montana, New Mexico and Utah within the time
frame required by section 110(k)(2) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C.
7410(k)(2), in violation of its non-discretionary duty to take such
action within that time frame. The amended complaint identifies a total
of 55 SIP submittals (10 from Colorado, 12 from Montana, 7 from Utah
and 26 from New Mexico) on which EPA is alleged to have failed to take
timely action.
    The EPA elected to use both a settlement agreement and a consent

decree to document its agreement with Wildearth Guardians. Both
documents identify each individual SIP submittal that is addressed in
the particular document. For some of the submittals the relevant
document specifies both a date for signature on a proposed action and a
date for signature on a final action, while for others, the relevant
document only specifies a date for signature on a final action. The
earliest date by which signature on a final action is required is 12/
31/2010 and the latest date by which signature on a final action is
required is 6/29/2012.
    For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication
of this notice, the Agency will receive written comments relating to
the proposed settlement agreement and 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 settlement agreement and/or 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, based on any comment which may be submitted, that consent
to the settlement agreement and/or consent decree should be withdrawn,
the terms of the agreement and decree will be affirmed.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement
Agreement and/or Consent Decree

A. How Can I Get a Copy of the Settlement Agreement and/or Consent
Decree?

    Direct your comments to the official public docket for this action
under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2010-0221 which contains a copy of both
the settlement agreement and the 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<PHONE_NUMBER>, and the telephone number for the OEI
Docket is<PHONE_NUMBER>.
    An electronic version of the public docket is available through
www.regulations.gov. You may use the 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 e-mail 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, e-mail 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
(e-mail) system is not an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an
e-mail comment directly to the Docket without going through
www.regulations.gov, your e-mail 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: March 8, 2010.
Richard B. Ossias,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2010-5483 Filed 3-11-10; 8:45 am]
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