

[Federal Register: December 27, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 247)]
[Notices]
[Page 76450-76451]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27de05-40]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-8015-5]


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 section 113(g) of the Clean Air Act, as
amended (``Act''), 42 U.S.C. 7413(g), notice is hereby given of a
proposed consent decree, to address a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club
and the American Bottom Conservancy (collectively ``Plaintiffs''):
Sierra Club, et al. v. Johnson, No. 05-C-4425 (N.D. IL). On August 2,
2005, plaintiffs filed a complaint alleging that they had submitted a
petition to EPA seeking an objection to a Clean Air Act Title V permit
proposed by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for the Onyx
Environmental Services' waste incinerator (``Onyx Incinerator'') in
Sauget, Illinois, and that the Administrator 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 consent decree,
EPA has agreed to respond to the petition by February 1, 2006, and the
plaintiffs have agreed to dismiss their suit with prejudice. In
addition, EPA has agreed to pay the plaintiffs a specified amount in
settlement of the plaintiffs' claims for attorneys' fees in this
matter.

DATES: Written comments on the proposed consent decree must be received
by January 26, 2006.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID number EPA-HQ-
OGC-2005-0529, 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,

[[Page 76451]]

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: 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 Consent Decree

    This proposed consent decree would resolve a lawsuit seeking a
response to a petition to object to a Title V permit proposed by the
Illinois Environmental Protection Agency to the Onyx Environmental
Services' waste incinerator in Sauget, Illinois. Under the proposed
decree, the parties would seek to stay the pending litigation, and the
plaintiffs would agree to dismiss the lawsuit if the Administrator
issues a response to the petition by February 1, 2006. The consent
decree does not require the Administrator to respond to the petition in
any particular way. If the consent decree becomes final and the
Administrator issues a response to the petition by February 1, 2006,
Plaintiffs will dismiss the case and EPA will pay the plaintiffs a
specified amount in settlement of their 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 consent decree 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 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. Unless EPA or the Department of
Justice determines, based on any comment which may be submitted, that
consent to the consent decree should be withdrawn, the terms of the
decree will be affirmed.

II. Additional Information About Commenting on the Proposed Consent
Decree

A. How Can I Get A Copy Of the Consent Decree?

    Direct your comments to the official public docket for this action
under Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OGC-2005-0529 which contains a copy of the
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 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 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.
Web site to submit or view public comments, to 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 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 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: December 20, 2005.
Richard B. Ossias,
Associate General Counsel.
[FR Doc. E5-7853 Filed 12-23-05; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6560-50-P
