[Federal Register: August 3, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 148)]
[Notices]
[Page 46535-46537]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr03au04-66]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7796-3]
Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Air Act Petitions for Review
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed settlement agreement; 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. section 7413(g), notice is hereby given of
a proposed settlement agreement, to address lawsuits filed by Our
Children's Earth Foundation, Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Local 342
and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 302, and
Communities for a Better Environment (``plaintiffs''): Our Children's
Earth Foundation v. EPA (No. 04-70643) (9th Cir.); Plumbers and
Steamfitters Union Local 342 v. EPA (No. 04-70688) (9th Cir.); and
Communities for a Better Environment v. EPA (No. 04-70776) (9th Cir.)
(consolidated). On or about February 12, 2004, February 13, 2004, and
February 17, 2004 plaintiffs filed petitions for judicial review of
EPA's dismissal of several administrative ``veto'' petitions filed
under title V of the Act, which requested that the EPA Administrator
object to operating permits issued by the Bay Area Air Quality
Management District (``District'') for several oil refineries in the
San Francisco Bay Area. Under the terms of the proposed settlement
agreement, the parties would request a continuation of the stay of the
petitions for review while the District finalizes new versions of the
title V permits at issue, the Plaintiffs file new veto petitions on
those new permits,
[[Page 46536]]
and EPA responds to the new veto petitions.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be
received by September 2, 2004.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kevin S. Minoli, Air and Radiation Law
Office (2333A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460,
telephone: (202) 564-5551.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket ID number OGC-
2004-0006, online at http://www.epa.gov/edocket (EPA's preferred method); by e-mail to oei.docket@epa.gov; mailed 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 B102, 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 Wordperfect or ASCII file, avoiding the use of special
characters and any form of encryption, and may be mailed to the mailing
address above.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement
The petitions for review seek judicial review of EPA's November
2003 dismissal of several administrative petitions filed under title V
of the Act. The petitions requested that the EPA Administrator object
to operating permits issued by the District for several oil refineries
in the San Francisco Bay Area. EPA dismissed the administrative
petitions as unripe after EPA informed the District that the permits
had to be reopened because the District had failed to provide the
Agency with proposed permits as required by 40 CFR part 70.
The proposed settlement sets a deadline for EPA's response to new
petitions plaintiffs will file once the District forwards new proposed
permits for these refineries to EPA. Should EPA receive the proposed
permits by July 31, 2004, as expected, the deadline for responding to
any petitions filed by plaintiffs on those permits would be March 15,
2005. The Agreement allows EPA and plaintiffs to opt out of the
Agreement should the District fail to provide EPA with the proposed
permits by July 31, 2004. During the stay, EPA would be required to
inform the 9th Circuit Mediator's Office whether it is on track to meet
the March 15, 2005, deadline on three occasions: September 1, 2004;
January 10, 2005, and March 1, 2005.
If the deadlines are met, plaintiffs will seek an indefinite stay
of their litigation. The purpose of the indefinite stay is to allow
plaintiffs to maintain their pending petitions for review as protective
filings only, to be litigated only in the event that a court later
determines that any challenge by plaintiffs to the merits of the
Administrator's decisions on the anticipated petitions must be raised
in the above-captioned litigation rather than a later-filed lawsuit.
The proposed settlement calls for the government to pay attorneys'
fees in the amount of $30,000.
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 from persons who were not named as
parties or interveners to the litigation in question. EPA or the
Department of Justice may withdraw or withhold consent to the proposed
settlement agreement 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 determine, based on any comment which may be
submitted, that consent to the settlement agreement should be
withdrawn, the terms of the agreement will be affirmed.
II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement
A. How Can I Get A Copy of the Settlement?
EPA has established an official public docket for this action under
Docket ID No. OGC-2004-0006 which contains a copy of the settlement.
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 B102, 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
EPA's electronic public docket and comment system, EPA Dockets. You may
use EPA Dockets at http://www.epa.gov/edocket/ 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, select ``search,''
then key in the appropriate docket identification number.
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 in EPA's electronic public docket as EPA receives
them and 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 EPA's 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.
Your use of EPA's electronic public docket to submit comments to
EPA electronically is EPA's preferred method
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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 EPA's electronic public docket, 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: July 26, 2004.
Lisa K. Friedman,
Associate General Counsel, Air and Radiation Law Office, Office of
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 04-17662 Filed 8-2-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P