Notice2022-05936
Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Water Act
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
March 21, 2022
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
In accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator's October 16, 2017 Directive Promoting Transparency and Public Participation in Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements, the agency is providing notice of a proposed settlement agreement in a lawsuit filed by Din[eacute] Citizens Against Ruining the Environment, Amigos Bravos, San Juan Citizens Alliance, and Center for Biological Diversity ("Petitioners"), in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. On January 22, 2021 the Petitioners filed a lawsuit seeking review of the 2020 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 to the Arizona Public Service Company for discharges from the Four Corners Power Plant. Under the proposed settlement agreement, the parties would seek to stay the associated case for at least 15 months.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 87 Issue 54 (Monday, March 21, 2022)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 54 (Monday, March 21, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 15986-15988]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2022-05936]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OGC-2022-0292; FRL_9650-01-OGC]
Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Water Act
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed settlement agreement; request for public
comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Administrator's October 16, 2017 Directive Promoting Transparency and
Public Participation in Consent Decrees and Settlement Agreements, the
agency is providing notice of a proposed settlement agreement in a
lawsuit filed by Din[eacute] Citizens Against Ruining the Environment,
Amigos Bravos, San Juan Citizens Alliance, and Center for Biological
Diversity (``Petitioners''), in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth
Circuit. On January 22, 2021 the Petitioners filed a lawsuit seeking
review of the 2020 National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
(NPDES) permit issued by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Region 9 to the Arizona Public Service Company for discharges from the
Four Corners Power Plant. Under the proposed settlement agreement, the
parties would seek to stay the associated case for at least 15 months.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreements must be
received by April 20, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2022-0292, online at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> (EPA's preferred method).
For comments submitted at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, please follow the online
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. EPA may publish any
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI)
or other information whose disclosure is
[[Page 15987]]
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 generally will not consider comments or comment
contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web,
cloud, or other file sharing system). EPA encourages the public to
submit comments via www.Regulations.gov, as there will be a delay in
processing mail and no hand deliveries will be accepted. For additional
submission methods, please contact the person identified in the FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section. For the full EPA public comment
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general
guidance on making effective comments, please visit <a href="http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Elise O'Dea, Water Law Office (2355A),
Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, 1200
Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20460; telephone: (202) 564-4201;
email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d2bdb6b7b3fcb7bebba1b792b7a2b3fcb5bda4"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="7d1219181c531811140e183d180d1c531a120b">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement Agreement
On January 22, 2021, four organizations (Din[eacute] Citizens
Against Ruining the Environment, Amigos Bravos, San Juan Citizens
Alliance, and Center for Biological Diversity, hereinafter
``Petitioners'') filed a petition in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Ninth Circuit seeking review of the 2020 National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES) permit issued by U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9 to the Arizona Public Service Company
for discharges from the Four Corners Power Plant. Petitioners
previously sought review of the permit before the Environmental Appeals
Board, which issued an order denying review of the permit on September
30, 2020 in the case In re Arizona Public Service Co. The parties have
engaged in mediation in an attempt to resolve Petitioners' concerns
with the Four Corners Power Plant NPDES permit and have negotiated a
proposed settlement agreement. Pursuant to the proposed settlement
agreement, EPA Region 9 would, among other things, perform a
``reasonable potential analysis'' for temperature and potentially take
related action that would result in dismissal of the petition for
review.
For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication
of this notice, the agency will accept written comments relating to the
proposed settlement agreement from persons who are not parties to the
proposed settlement agreement. EPA also may hold a public hearing on
whether to enter into the proposed settlement agreement. EPA or the
Department of Justice may withdraw or withhold consent to the proposed
settlement agreement if the comments received disclose facts or
considerations that indicate that such consent is inappropriate,
improper, inadequate, or inconsistent with the requirements of the
Clean Water Act.
II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement
Agreement
A. How can I get a copy of the proposed settlement agreement?
The official public docket for this action (identified by EPA-HQ-
OGC-2022-0292) contains a copy of the proposed settlement agreement.
The official public docket is located at the Office of Environmental
Information (OEI) Docket in the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, Room 3334,
1301 Constitution Ave. NW, Washington, DC. The regular hours of the EPA
Docket Center Public Reading Room are from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.,
Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays; however, due to the
COVID-19 pandemic, there may be limited or no opportunity to enter the
docket center. At the time of this printing, the docket center is
closed to public visitors out of an abundance of caution for members of
the public and EPA staff to reduce the risk of transmitting COVID-19.
During the closure, Docket Center staff will continue to provide remote
customer service via email, phone, and webform. For further information
on EPA Docket Center services, see <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets</a>. 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 on EPA's
website at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>. You may use <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> 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.'' 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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> 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. EPA has not included any
copyrighted material in the docket for this proposed settlement. If
commenters submit copyrighted material in a public comment, it will be
placed in the official public docket and made available for public
viewing when the EPA Docket Center is open.
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. The EPA encourages the public to submit comments via
www.Regulations.gov. There will be a delay in processing mail and no
hand deliveries will be accepted due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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 <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a> 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.
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In contrast to EPA's electronic public docket, EPA's electronic mail
(email) system is not an ``anonymous access'' system. If you send an
email comment directly to the Docket without going through
<a href="http://www.regulations.gov">www.regulations.gov</a>, your email 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 14, 2022.
Steven Neugeboren,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2022-05936 Filed 3-18-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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