[Federal Register Volume 75, Number 62 (Thursday, April 1, 2010)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16461-16462]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2010-7318]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-9133-3]
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 (``CAA'' or ``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby given
of a proposed settlement agreement, to address a consolidated petition
for review filed by the New Jersey Department of Environmental
Protection (``NJDEP'') in the United States Court of Appeals for the
Third Circuit: NJDEP v. Johnson, Nos. 07-0612 and 08-4818 (3rd Cir.).
On July 21, 2006, NJDEP filed an administrative petition seeking an
objection to a permit proposed to be issued under title V of the Act,
42 U.S.C. 7661 et seq., to RRI Energy Mid-Atlantic's Portland
Generating Station in Northampton County, Pennsylvania.\1\ Following
denial of the petition, on September 14, 2007, NJDEP filed a petition
for review of that denial (No. 07-0612) and submitted an administrative
petition for reconsideration of the denial. Following denial of the
petition for reconsideration, NJDEP filed a petition for review of that
denial (No. 08-4818) and the two petitions were consolidated into one
action. On July 23, 2009, NJDEP filed an administrative petition asking
the Administrator to reopen the title V permit for the RRI Energy
Portland plant pursuant to 40 CFR 70.7(f)(iii) & (iv). Under the terms
of the proposed settlement agreement, NJDEP
[[Page 16462]]
has agreed to dismiss its pending consolidated petition for review, and
EPA has agreed to respond to NJDEP's petition to reopen the permit
within one year after the date when this Agreement becomes final.
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\1\ At the time of the petition, the name of the company was
``Reliant Energy,'' but the company subsequently changed its name.
To avoid confusion this notice uses the company's current name.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received
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by May 3, 2010.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2009-0987, online at http://www.regulations.gov (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 3334, 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 Word 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; fax number (202) 564-5603; e-mail address:
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement Agreement
This settlement agreement would resolve pending challenges to EPA's
denial of the title V petition and petition for reconsideration filed
by NJDEP that seek an objection to a permit proposed to be issued by
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection to RRI Energy Mid-
Atlantic Power Holdings LLC for its Portland Generating Station in
Pennsylvania. Under the terms of the proposed settlement agreement, EPA
shall make a determination on the petition to reopen the title V permit
filed by NJDEP on July 23, 2009 no later than one year after the date
when this Agreement becomes final. Within 10 days after this Agreement
is finalized, NJDEP and EPA shall file a joint motion for voluntary
dismissal with prejudice of the pending litigation.
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 intervenors 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 determines that consent to the settlement
agreement should be withdrawn, the terms of the settlement will be
affirmed.
II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Settlement
Agreement
A. How Can I Get a Copy of the Settlement Agreement?
The official public docket for this action (identified by Docket ID
No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2009-0987) contains a copy of the proposed settlement
agreement. 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.
An electronic version of the public docket is available through
http://www.regulations.gov. You may use the http://www.regulations.gov
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, 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 http://www.regulations.gov 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. 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.
Use of the http://www.regulations.gov 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, 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 http://www.regulations.gov, 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: March 25, 2010.
Richard B. Ossias,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. 2010-7318 Filed 3-31-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P