Notice2023-01303
Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit
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
January 24, 2023
Issuing agencies
Environmental Protection Agency
Abstract
In accordance with the Clean Air Act, as amended (CAA or the Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is providing notice of a proposed consent decree in California Communities Against Toxics, et al. v. Regan, No. 1:22-cv-01012-CRC (D.D.C.). On April 12, 2022, Plaintiffs California Communities Against Toxics, Coalition For A Safe Environment, and Sierra Club filed a complaint in the United States District Court in the District of Columbia. In the complaint, which was amended on July 6, 2022, Plaintiffs allege that EPA failed to perform its non-discretionary duty to review and revise as necessary the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants from Oil and Natural Gas Production Facilities and Natural Gas Transmission and Storage Facilities. Plaintiffs further allege that EPA has unreasonably delayed in responding to Plaintiffs' 2012 petition for administrative reconsideration of the final rule Oil and Natural Gas Sector: New Source Performance Standards and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Reviews. The proposed consent decree would establish deadlines for EPA to sign proposed and final actions.
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 88 Issue 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4178-4179]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2023-01303]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-0028; FRL-10587-01-OGC]
Proposed Consent Decree, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice of proposed consent decree; request for public comment.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Clean Air Act, as amended (CAA or the
Act), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or the Agency) is
providing notice of a proposed consent decree in California Communities
Against Toxics, et al. v. Regan, No. 1:22-cv-01012-CRC (D.D.C.). On
April 12, 2022, Plaintiffs California Communities Against Toxics,
Coalition For A Safe Environment, and Sierra Club filed a complaint in
the United States District Court in the District of Columbia. In the
complaint, which was amended on July 6, 2022, Plaintiffs allege that
EPA failed to perform its non-discretionary duty to review and revise
as necessary the National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air
Pollutants from Oil and Natural Gas Production Facilities and Natural
Gas Transmission and Storage Facilities. Plaintiffs further allege that
EPA has unreasonably delayed in responding to Plaintiffs' 2012 petition
for administrative reconsideration of the final rule Oil and Natural
Gas Sector: New Source Performance Standards and National Emission
Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Reviews. The proposed consent
decree would establish deadlines for EPA to sign proposed and final
actions.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received
by February 23, 2023.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2023-0028, online at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> (EPA's preferred
method). Follow the online instructions for submitting comments.
Instructions: All submissions received must include the Docket ID
number for this action. Comments received may be posted without change
to <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>, including any personal information
provided. For detailed instructions on sending comments and additional
information on the rulemaking process, see the ``Additional Information
about Commenting on the Proposed Consent Decree'' heading under the
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Amy Huang Branning, Air and Radiation
Law Office, Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency; telephone (202) 564-1744; email address <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#d9bbabb8b7b7b0b7bef7b8b4a099bca9b8f7beb6af"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="5c3e2e3d323235323b723d31251c392c3d723b332a">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Obtaining a Copy of the Proposed Consent Decree
The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-0028) contains a copy of the proposed 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 (202) 566-1744, and the
telephone number for the OEI Docket is (202) 566-1752.
The electronic version of the public docket for this action
contains a copy of the proposed consent decree and is available through
<a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. You may use <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://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.''
II. Additional Information About the Proposed Consent Decree
On April 12, 2022, Plaintiffs California Communities Against
Toxics, Coalition For A Safe Environment, and Sierra Club (collectively
``Plaintiffs'') filed a complaint in the United States District Court
for the District of Columbia alleging that EPA has failed to
[[Page 4179]]
perform its non-discretionary duty under CAA section 112(d)(6) to
``review, and revise as necessary'' the National Emission Standards for
Hazardous Air Pollutants from Oil and Natural Gas Production Facilities
and Natural Gas Transmission and Storage Facilities, 40 CFR part 60,
subparts HH and HHH respectively (``Oil and Gas NESHAP''), at least
every eight years. On July 6, 2022, Plaintiffs amended the complaint to
also claim that EPA has unreasonably delayed in taking final action on
Plaintiffs' 2012 petition for administrative reconsideration of the
final rule Oil and Natural Gas Sector: New Source Performance Standards
and National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants Reviews,
77 FR 49490 (Aug. 16, 2012) (``2012 Rule'').
The 2012 Rule contains actions on both the new source performance
standards (``NSPS'') for the oil and natural gas sector under CAA
section 111 and the Oil and Gas NESHAP under CAA section 112. Multiple
parties, including Plaintiffs, sought judicial review of the 2012 Rule
in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of the Columbia (``D.C.
Circuit''). In addition, Plaintiffs submitted to EPA a petition for
administrative reconsideration of the 2012 Rule (``Reconsideration
Petition''). In that petition, Plaintiffs objected to multiple aspects
of the NESHAP portion of the 2012 Rule, including provision of an
affirmative defense to civil penalties for violating emissions
standards caused by malfunctions (``affirmative defense'').
The D.C. Circuit consolidated all petitions for judicial review of
the 2012 Rule and granted EPA's motion to (1) sever NESHAP-related
challenges from NSPS-related challenges and (2) hold the former in
abeyance pending EPA's reconsideration of the NESHAP portion of the
rule. American Petroleum Institute v. EPA, No. 12-1405 (D.C. Cir.). In
a letter dated December 14, 2016, EPA informed Plaintiffs' counsel that
EPA's reconsideration of the NESHAP portion of the 2012 Rule was still
ongoing and that it was reviewing, among several other issues, the
affirmative defense provisions raised in the Reconsideration Petition.
The proposed consent decree, if finalized, would establish
deadlines for EPA to take proposed and final actions under CAA section
112(d)(6) for the Oil and Gas NESHAP and for addressing the
Reconsideration Petition. Specifically, EPA would be required to sign
the proposed action addressing the affirmative defense issue in the
Reconsideration Petition by February 12, 2024, and final action by
December 10, 2024. EPA would also be required to sign the proposed
action on its review of the Oil and Gas NESHAP under CAA section
112(d)(6) and on other Reconsideration Petition issues that EPA is
reconsidering by December 10, 2024, and the final action by December
10, 2025.
In accordance with section 113(g) of the CAA, for a period of
thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this document,
the Agency will accept written comments relating to the proposed
consent decree. EPA or the Department of Justice may withdraw or
withhold consent to the proposed 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.
III. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent
Decree
Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2023-
0028, via <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a>. Once submitted, comments cannot
be edited or removed from this docket. EPA may publish any comment
received to its public docket. Do not submit to EPA's docket at <a href="https://www.regulations.gov">https://www.regulations.gov</a> any information you consider to be Confidential
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is
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 will generally not consider comments or comment
contents located outside of the primary submission (i.e., on the web,
cloud, or other file sharing system). For additional submission
methods, the full EPA public comment policy, information about CBI or
multimedia submissions, and general guidance on making effective
comments, please visit <a href="https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets">https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets</a>. For additional information about submitting information
identified as CBI, please contact the person listed in the FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT section of this document. Note that written
comments containing CBI and submitted by mail may be delayed and
deliveries or couriers will be received by scheduled appointment only.
If you submit an electronic comment, 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="https://www.regulations.gov">https://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.
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.
Gautam Srinivasan,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2023-01303 Filed 1-23-23; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
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