crew foia 2014-006851-0001006
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Correspondence Management System
Control Number: AX-14-000-4206
Printing Date: January 27 2014 03:58:01
Citizen Information
Citizen/Originator: Johnson Seth L
Organization: Earth ustice
Address: 1625 Massachusetts Ave., NW, Washington,
D
20036-2212
Constituent: N/A
Committee: N/A
Sub-Committee:
N/A
Control Information
Control Number:
AX-14-000-4206
Alternate Number:
N/A
Status: Pending Closed Date: N/A
Due Date: Feb 10, 2014
of
Extensions: 0
Letter Date: Jan 22, 2014 Received Date: Jan 27, 2014
Addressee: AD-Administrator Addressee Org: EPA
Contact Type: LTR (Letter) Priority Code: Normal
Signature: DX-Direct Reply Signature Date: N/A
File Code: 404-141-02-01_141 _b Controlled and Major Corr. Record copy
of
the offices
of
Division
Directors and other personnel.
Subject: ORF - Daily Reading File - Sierra Club giving notice to U.S. EPA of agency action
unreasonably delayed regarding Notice of Citizen Suit concerning petition for Redesignation
of
Areas that Violate 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards
Instructions: DX-Respond directly to this citizen's questions, statements, or concerns
Instruction Note: N/A
General Notes: N/A
CC: OAR - Office
of
Air and Radiation -- Immediate Office
OEAEE - Office of External Affairs and Environmental Education
OP - Office of Policy
Lead Information
Lead Author: N/A
Lead Assignments:
Assigner Office
Assignee Assigned Date
Due Date
Ken Labbe OEX OGC Jan 27, 2014 Feb 10, 2014
Instruction:
DX-Respond directly to this citizen's questions, statements, or concerns
Supporting Information
Supporting Author: N/A
Supporting Assignments:
Complete Date
N/A
I ssigner
l ttice
I
ssignee
I ssigned Date
No Record Found.
History
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E RTHJUSTICE
ALASKA CALIFORNIA FLORIDA MID-PACIFIC
NORTHEAST NORTHERN
ROCKIES
NORTHWEST ROCKY
MOUNTAIN
WASHINGTON
D.C.
INTERNATIONAL
VIA CERTIFIED MAIL RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
Ms. Gina McCarthy
Administrator
Environmental Protection Agency
l
lOlA
EPA Headquarters
William Jefferson Clinton Building
1200 Pennsylvania Avenue,
NW
Washington, D.C. 20460
January 22, 2014
RE: Notice of Citizen Suit Concerning Petition for Redesignation of Areas That
Violate 2008 National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Ozone
Dear Administrator McCarthy,
This
is
a notice
of
agency action unreasonably delayed within the meaning
of
section
304(a) of the Clean Air Act ( CAA ), 42 U.S.C. § 7604(a). This notice is provided to you as
Administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA ), in your official capacity,
pursuant to CAA section 304(a) and (b), 42 U.S.C. § 7604(a), (b), and 40 C.F.R. Part 54,
as
a
prerequisite to bringing a civil action.
The organization giving this notice
is
Sierra Club,
85
Second Street, 2d Floor, San
Francisco, California 94105, (415) 977-5500.
On November 14, 2013, we petitioned you to redesignate
as
nonattainment 57 areas with
2012 ozone design values violating the 2008 8-hour National Ambient Air Quality Standards
( NAAQS ) for ozone. As a severable element of our petition, we also proposed boundaries for
the areas that we requested be redesignated. Over 94 million Americans live in metropolitan
areas where air quality monitors, located in places designated attainment or unclassifiable for the
2008 NAAQS, register 2012 design values above 0.075
ppm-a
level EPA has determined to be
harmful to public health and welfare. The Clean Air Act contains both a detailed framework for
redesignating areas and, after redesignation
is
complete, a detailed framework for bringing
nonattainment areas into attainment. 42 U.S.C.
§§
7407(d)(3), 75
l b) l),
75
la.
The scope and
seriousness of the ozone violations militate strongly for swiftly beginning the process of
realizing the Clean Air Act's promise
of
healthful air for all Americans. Accordingly, we called
on EPA to grant our petition and begin the redesignation process within 30 days of receiving the
petition. EPA notified us by letter dated November 29, 2013, that it had received our petition, but
has not told us of
any decision on any aspect
of
the petition.
Sierra Club has the right to petition for EPA to take action, and EPA must grant or deny
the petition within a reasonable time. 5
U.S.C. §§ 553(e), 555(b); see lso id § 706(1)
(authorizing court to compel agency action
...
unreasonably delayed ); 42 U.S.C. § 7604(a)
WASHINGTON DC OFFICE
1625
MASSACHUSETTS
AVENUE
SUITE 702 WASHINGTON DC 20036
T:
202 667 4500
F:
202 667 2356 [email protected] WWW.EARTHJUSTICE.ORG
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(authorizing suits in district court to compel agency action unreasonably delayed ). The D.C.
Circuit has made plain that a reasonable time for agency action
is
typically counted in weeks or
months, not years.
In re Am. Rivers
372 F.3d 413, 419 (D.C. Cir. 2004). That expeditious
timeframe
is
especially merited here, for at levels exceeding the NAAQS, ozone pollution has
serious effects on human health and the environment. Only more harm will occur
if
EPA persists
in delaying getting violating areas on the congressionally established path toward clean air.
Further, the issue at hand
is
fairly simple: Do the areas Sierra Club identified have ozone levels
exceeding the NAAQS? EPA has already had two months to consider that basic question (and
will have an additional six months before we can commence a citizen suit). And, s we explained
in our petition, under the Clean Air Act, air quality data demonstrating violations
of
the NAAQS
is
dispositive that EPA must redesignate the areas at issue. 42 U.S.C. § 7407(d)(3)(A). Thus,
EPA's delay in responding to our petition
is
unreasonable.
See Telecomms. Research Action
Ctr. v FCC
750 F.2d 70, 80 (D.C. Cir. 1984) (laying out six-factor test for unreasonable delay,
including
a
'rule
of
reason, ' heightened need for speed when human health and welfare are at
stake,'' and the nature and extent
of
the interests prejudiced by delay ).
180 Day Notice.
Pursuant to section 304
of
the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7604, Sierra
Club intends to commence a citizen suit to compel you to act on its petition at any time
beginning 180 days from the postmark date
of
this letter, which
is
January 22, 2014, unless EPA
has completed within that 180-day period one
of
the following:
granting Sierra Club's petition in full and notifying the governors
of
the relevant states,
per section 107(d)(3)(A) of the Clean Air Act, id § 7407(d)(3)(A), that available
information indicates that the ozone designations for the areas addressed in Sierra Club's
petition should be revised to nonattainment ;
granting Sierra Club's petition in part and denying the remainder, and notifying the
governor(s)
of
the relevant state(s), per section 107(d)(3)(A)
of
the Clean Air Act,
id.
that available information indicates that the ozone designations for the areas (or portions
thereof) addressed in the granted part( s)
of
Sierra Club's petition should be revised to
nonattainment ; or
denying the petition in whole.
See
40 C.F.R. § 54.2(d).
Contact Information
We are acting
s
attorneys for Sierra Club in this matter. Please contact us at your earliest
convenience regarding this matter. Please address any communications to us at the address and
telephone number set forth below.
2
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Correspondence Management System
Control Number: AX-14-000-4279
Printing Date: January 28, 2014 02:47:37
Citizen Information
Citizen/Originator: Kelley, Dan
Organization:
Address:
House
of
Representatives State
of
Iowa
P.O. Box 333, Newton, IA 50208
Constituent: N/A
Committee: N/A
Control Information
Control Number:
Status:
Due Date:
Letter Date:
Addressee:
Contact Type:
AX-14-000-4279
Pending
Feb 11, 2014
Jan 27, 2014
AD-Administrator
LTR Letter)
Sub-Committee:
Alternate Number:
Closed Date:
of
Extensions:
Received Date:
Addressee Org:
Priority Code:
Signature: AA-OAR-Assistant Administrator Signature Date:
OAR
N/A
N/A
N/A
Jan 28, 2014
EPA
Normal
N/A
File Code: 404-141-02-01_ 141_a 2) Copy
of
Controlled and Major Correspondence Record
of
the EPA
Administrator and other senior officials - Electronic.
Subject:
Instructions:
Instruction Note:
General Notes:
CC:
ORF - Daily Reading File -Please reconsider the 2014 Renewable Fuel Standards
requirements for biodiesel and take action
on
this important issue
AA-OAR-Prepare draft response for signature by the Assistant Administrator for OAR
N/A
N/A
OCIR - Office
of
Congressional and Intergovernmental Relations
OEAEE - Office
of
External Affairs and Environmental Education
OP - Office
of
Policy
R - Region 7 -- Immediate Office
Lead Information
Lead Author: N/A
Lead Assignments:
Assigner Office
Assignee Assigned Date Due Date Complete Date
Ken Labbe
OEX
OAR Jan 28, 2014 Feb 11, 2014 N/A
Instruction:
AA-OAR-Prepare draft response for signature by the Assistant Administrator for OAR
Supporting Information
Supporting Author: N/A
Supporting Assignments:
I
ssigner IOffice
Assignee
I ssigned Date
No Record Found.
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anKelley
STATE REPRESENTATIVE
Twenty Ninth District
www.electkelley.com
MAILING ADDRESS
P.O. ox 333
Newton, Iowa 50208
Home: (641) 521-9260
Dear Administrator McCarthy:
ouse
of
Representatives
State of
Eighty Fifth General Assembly
STATEHOUSE
Des Moines, Iowa 50319
COMMITTEES
Ways Means
Agriculture
Environmental Protection
International Relations
APPROPRIATIONS SUBCOMMITTEE
Administration Regulation,
Ranking Member
Thank you for your years of advocacy on behalf of environmental issues. Currently, I represent House District
29 in the Iowa State House of Representatives and serve on the Environmental Protection, Agriculture, and
Ways and Means committees. In those positions, I am committed to advancing policies that protect our
environment and spur economic growth through innovation.
That
is
particularly true in the renewable energy sector. As you may know, Iowa
is
one
of
the top biodiesel
producing states in the country. Today, the industry supports more than 10,000 jobs, 400 million in wages, and
3.4 billion in overall economic impact. Nationally, it supports
62,000 jobs and pays at least 628 million in
federal, state, and local taxes.
However, your agency recently proposed 2014 Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) requirements that would
severely curtail production in the coming year and impact this important economic engine. I am respectively
asking that you reconsider this proposal. Under RFS, biodiesel production has been an incredible success story.
Not only has it demonstrated its ability to meet the requirements, it has increased production to a record high of
1 7 billion gallons and actually exceeded the standard in recent years.
The biodiesel industry
is
critical for my district, the state of Iowa, and the United States
as
a whole. Maintaining
current RFS biodiesel requirements at 1.28 billion gallons, despite record production of 1.7 billion gallons in
2013, will result in significant reductions in biodiesel production next year. As you know, more than 30 member
of
the United State Senate, including Senator Tom Harkin and Senator Charles Grassley, have already written to
you asking that RFS requirements for biodiesel are set at the current industry production level of
1
7 billion
gallons.
Please reconsider the 2014 RFS requirements for biodiesel and take action on this important issue.
Sincerely,
Dan Kelley
Iowa State Representative, House District 29