[Federal Register: February 7, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 26)]
[Notices]
[Page 7285-7287]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr07fe08-62]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-8526-6]
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 the
Battery Council International (``BCI'') in the United States Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit: Battery Council
International v. EPA, No. 07-1364 (D.C. Cir.). On September 13, 2007,
BCI filed a petition for review challenging regulations promulgated by
EPA in a final rule entitled ``National Emission Standards for
Hazardous Air Pollutants for Area Sources: Acrylic and Modacrylic
Fibers Production, Carbon Black Production, Chemical Manufacturing:
Chromium Compounds, Flexible Polyurethane Foam Production and
Fabrication, Lead Acid Battery Manufacturing, and Wood Preserving''
published at 72 FR 38864 (July 16, 2007) (the ``Battery NESHAP'').
Specifically, BCI is challenging the Lead Acid Battery Manufacturing
NESHAP
[[Page 7286]]
regarding the scope of the performance test requirement in Subpart
PPPPPP, 40 CFR 63.11423(c)(1). Under the terms of the proposed
settlement agreement, EPA shall sign a notice of proposed rulemaking
and/or direct final rulemaking that contains a technical amendment to
the Battery NESHAP that is substantially the same in substance as set
forth in Attachment A of the proposed settlement agreement.
DATES: Written comments on the proposed settlement agreement must be
received by March 10, 2008.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2008-0076, online at http://www.regulations.gov (EPA's preferred method); by e-mail to oei.docket@epa.gov; 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: Paul Versace, Air and Radiation Law
Office (2344A), Office of General Counsel, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency, 1200 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460;
telephone: (202) 564-0219; fax number (202) 564-5603; e-mail address:
versace.paul@epa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Additional Information About the Proposed Settlement
Battery Council International (BCI) filed a petition for review of
the rules applicable to Lead Acid Battery Manufacturing on September
13, 2007. BCI raised issues regarding the scope of the performance test
requirement in Subpart PPPPPP, 40 CFR 63.11423(c)(1) of the Battery
NESHAP.
The settlement agreement provides that within three days after the
agreement is executed BCI and EPA will jointly notify the Court of this
settlement agreement and request that the case continue to be held in
abeyance. The settlement agreement states that EPA shall sign a notice
of proposed rulemaking and/or direct final rulemaking that contains a
technical amendment to the Battery NESHAP that is substantially the
same in substance as set forth in Attachment A. If EPA signs and
thereafter publishes in the Federal Register a final rule that contains
a technical amendment to the Battery NESHAP that is substantially the
same in substance as set forth in Attachment A to the settlement
agreement, BCI and EPA will file the appropriate pleading for the
dismissal of the petition for review with prejudice in accordance with
Rule 42(b) of the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedures, with each
party to bear its own costs and 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. 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, 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
Agreement
A. How Can I Get a Copy of the Settlement Agreement?
Direct your comments to the official public docket for this action
under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2008-0076, which contains a copy of the
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 www.regulations.gov Web site 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, 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 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 Web site 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
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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: January 30, 2008.
Richard B. Ossias,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E8-2252 Filed 2-6-08; 8:45 am]
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