US EPA Notice of New Proposed Consent Decree

US EPA Notice of New Proposed Consent Decree

On January 4, 2021, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published a notice in the Federal Register (86 Fed. Reg. 88, January 4, 2021) regarding a proposed consent decree related to United Refining Co. v. Wheeler, Case No. 20-1956 (D.D.C.).  EPA concurrently opened docket number EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0652, available at https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0652, to receive public comments on this proposal.  The Federal Register notice and the text of the proposed consent decree are available in the docket.  The comment period is open until February 3, 2021.

On or about December 18, 2019, Plaintiff submitted a petition to EPA seeking a small refinery exemption from its 2019 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) obligations.  The Agency has not yet issued a decision on that petition. United filed this suit on July 20, 2020, to compel the Agency to issue a decision on its petition.  The proposed consent decree will resolve the complaint by setting a deadline of February 19, 2021, by which the EPA must act on Plaintiff’s petition.  The proposed consent decree also includes standard language regarding resolution of costs and attorneys’ fees, stipulation of extensions, lapses in appropriations, disputes in implementation, preservation of Agency discretion, and the Clean Air Act section 113(g) public comment process.

EPA encourages your participation in the public comment process on the proposed consent decree mentioned above.  Please submit any comments to EPA docket number EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0652 by February 3, 2021, pursuant to the process outlined in the Federal Register notice.  We welcome all comments that you may have, including comments indicating concurrence.  Any comments received by EPA via email or other means outside of the regulations.gov platform will be directed to the docket where they will be available for public viewing.  You are under no obligation to submit comments, and this notice does not require you to take any action.

A copy of the proposed consent decree can be found here:https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=EPA-HQ-OGC-2020-0652-0002.

To view all complaints, petitions for review, and notices of intent to sue filed with the EPA, as well as proposed consent decrees and proposed settlement agreements, please visit  https://www.epa.gov/ogc.

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To view other NOIs, complaints, and filings, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/ogc

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Disclaimer: Posting does not mean that the notice was properly filed and/or served upon EPA or the United States, and EPA does not waive any defenses related to improper filing or service as it relates to the notices posted.