[Federal Register Volume 69, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 17, 2004)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67347-67348]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 04-25500]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-7838-4]
Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit
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. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a
proposed settlement agreement, to address a lawsuit filed by Louisiana
Environmental Action Network (``LEAN''): LEAN v. Leavitt, 04-CV-370
(M.D. La.). On or about June 4, 2004, LEAN filed a complaint alleging
that LEAN had submitted a petition to EPA seeking an objection to
permits issued by Louisiana's Department of Environmental Quality to
Dow Chemical Company for two plants located in Plaquemine, Louisiana,
and that the Administrator has failed to perform his nondiscretionary
duty to respond to the petition within sixty days of the date it was
filed. Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, EPA has
agreed to respond to the petition by December 22, 2004, and LEAN has
agreed to dismiss its suit with prejudice. In addition, under the
proposed settlement, EPA would pay LEAN $1641.50 in settlement of its
claims for attorneys' fees in this matter.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be
received by December 17, 2004.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by docket ID number OGC-
2004-0010, online at http://www.epa.gov/edocket (EPA's preferred
method); by e-mail to [email protected]; 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.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Orlin, Air and Radiation Law
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460,
telephone: (202) 564-1222.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement
This settlement would resolve a lawsuit seeking a response to a
petition to object to Title V permits issued by Louisiana's Department
of Environmental Quality to Dow Chemical for modifications to Dow's
Cellulose plant (permit 2227-V2) and Light Hydrocarbon plant (permit
2024-V2), which are located in Plaquemine, Louisiana. Under the
proposed settlement, the parties would seek to stay the pending
litigation, and LEAN would dismiss its lawsuit if the Administrator
issues a response to the petition by December 22, 2004. The settlement
does not require the Administrator to respond to the petition in any
particular way. If the settlement becomes final and the Administrator
issues a response to the petition by December 22, 2004, then EPA will
pay LEAN $1641.50 in settlement of LEAN's claims for attorneys' fees.
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-2004-0010 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
[[Page 67348]]
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 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: November 9, 2004.
Lisa K. Friedman,
Associate General Counsel, Air and Radiation Law Office, Office of
General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 04-25500 Filed 11-16-04; 8:45 am]
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