Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6153-7]

Proposed Settlement Agreement, Clean Air Act Citizen Suit

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Notice of proposed settlement; 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 partial consent decree, which was lodged with the United

States Dist4ict County for the Northern District of California by the

United States Environmental Protection Agency (``EPA'') on August 3,

1998, to address a lawsuit filed by the Sierra Club. This lawsuit,

which was filed pursuant to section 304(a) of the Act, 42 U.S.C.

7604(a), addresses EPA's alleged failure to meet mandatory deadlines

for acting on certain State Implementation Plan (``SIP'') submissions

for the San Francisco Bay Area under section 110 of the Act, 42 U.S.C.

7410. The proposed partial consent decree provides that the

Administrator shall take action on certain of these rules in accordance

with the schedule set forth therein.

EPA is also giving notice and soliciting public comment on an

accompanying proposed partial settlement agreement resolving the

remaining claims in the Sierra Club's Compliant. This partial

settlement agreement provides that the Administrator shall take action

on two additional rules within a specified time period.

For a period of thirty (30) days following the date of publication

of this document, the Agency will receive written comments relating to

the proposed partial consent decree and partial 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 partial 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

determine, following the comment period, that consent is inappropriate,

the final partial consent decree and partial settlement agreement will

establish deadlines for specific actions under section 110 of the Act.

A copy of the proposed partial consent decree was lodged with the

[[Page 46015]]

Clerk of the United States District6 Court for the Northern District of

California on August 3, 1998. copies of the proposed partial consent

decree and proposed partial settlement agreement are available from

Yvonne Fong, Air Division (A-4), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

Region IX, 75 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105, (415) 744-

1199. Written comments should be sent to Yvonne Fong at the address

above and must be submitted on or before September 28, 1998.

Dated: August 24, 1998.

Scott C. Fulton,

Acting General Counsel.

[FR Doc. 98-23212 Filed 8-27-98; 8:45 am]

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