Proposed Consent Decree

Issuing agencies

Abstract

In accordance with the Clean Air Act, as amended (CAA or the Act), notice is given of a proposed consent decree in Little Manila Rising, et al. v. U.S. EPA, et al., N.D. Cal. No. 3:26-cv-04106-MMC. On May 5, 2026, Plaintiffs Little Manila Rising, Medical Advocates for Healthy Air, and Sierra Club filed a complaint in the United States District Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco Division, alleging that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) failed to perform a nondiscretionary duty in accordance with the Act to take final action on a state implementation plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of California pertaining to the San Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District's attainment plan for the 2012 annual fine particulate matter (PM<INF>2.5</INF>) national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS). The EPA is providing notice of this proposed consent decree, which would resolve all claims in the case by establishing a deadline for the EPA to take final action as specified in the decree.

Full Text

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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 213 (Thursday, November 5, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 213 (Thursday, November 5, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 69844-69845]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-22548]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OGC-2026-9242; FRL-13676-01-OGC]


Proposed Consent Decree

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), notice is given of a proposed consent decree in Little Manila 
Rising, et al. v. U.S. EPA, et al., N.D. Cal. No. 3:26-cv-04106-MMC. On 
May 5, 2026, Plaintiffs Little Manila Rising, Medical Advocates for 
Healthy Air, and Sierra Club filed a complaint in the United States 
District Court, Northern District of California, San Francisco 
Division, alleging that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 
failed to perform a nondiscretionary duty in accordance with the Act to 
take final action on a state implementation plan (SIP) revision 
submitted by the State of California pertaining to the San Joaquin 
Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District's attainment plan for the 
2012 annual fine particulate matter (PM<INF>2.5</INF>) national ambient 
air quality standards (NAAQS). The EPA is providing notice of this 
proposed consent decree, which would resolve all claims in the case by 
establishing a deadline for the EPA to take final action as specified 
in the decree.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received 
by December 7, 2026.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OGC-2026-9242, 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: Douglas Bushey, Region IX, Office of 
Regional Counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; telephone 
number: (415) 972-3566; email address: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#7c1e090f141905521813091b101d0f3c190c1d521b130a"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="f39186809b968add979c86949f9280b3968392dd949c85">[email&#160;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-2026-9242) 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

    The proposed consent decree would establish a deadline of May 28, 
2027, for the EPA to take final action on the submission of the San 
Joaquin Valley Unified Air Pollution Control District 2024 Plan for the 
2012 annual PM<INF>2.5</INF> NAAQS. The proposed consent decree would 
require the EPA, within 15 business days of signature, to send the 
required notice of final rulemaking to the Office of the Federal 
Register for review and publication in the Federal Register.
    In accordance with section 113(g) of the CAA, for a period of 
thirty (30) days following the date of publication of this

[[Page 69845]]

document, the Agency will accept written comments relating to the 
proposed consent decree. The 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-2026-
9242, 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. 2026-22548 Filed 11-4-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P


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