[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 67 (Friday, April 6, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 18198-18200]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-8479]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[MO 114-1114a; FRL-6964-1]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; State of 
Missouri

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving as an amendment to the Missouri State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) a revision to the Missouri construction 
permit rule. This revision will strengthen the SIP with respect to 
attainment and maintenance of established air quality standards, ensure 
consistency between the state and Federally approved rules, and ensure 
Federal enforceability of the state's air program rule revisions 
pursuant to section 110 of the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective June 5, 2001 unless EPA 
receives adverse comments by May 7, 2001. If adverse comments are 
received, EPA will publish a timely withdrawal of the direct final rule 
in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule will not 
take effect.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Wayne Kaiser, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th 
Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101.
    Copies of documents relative to this action are available for 
public inspection during normal business hours at the above listed 
Region 7 location. The interested persons wanting to examine these 
documents should make an appointment with the office at least 24 hours 
in advance.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Wayne Kaiser, at (913) 551-7603.

I. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we, 
us, or our'' is used, we mean EPA. This section provides additional 
information by addressing the following questions:

What is a SIP?
What is the Federal approval process for a SIP?

[[Page 18199]]

What does Federal approval of a state regulation mean to me?
What is being addressed in this action?
Have the requirements for approval of a SIP revision been met?
What action is EPA taking?

What Is a SIP?

    Section 110 of the Clean Air Act (CAA) requires states to develop 
air pollution regulations and control strategies to ensure that state 
air quality meets the national ambient air quality standards 
established by EPA. These ambient standards are established under 
section 109 of the CAA, and they currently address six criteria 
pollutants. These pollutants are: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, 
ozone, lead, particulate matter, and sulfur dioxide.
    Each state must submit these regulations and control strategies to 
EPA for approval and incorporation into the Federally enforceable SIP.
    Each Federally approved SIP protects air quality primarily by 
addressing air pollution at its point of origin. These SIPs can be 
extensive, containing state regulations or other enforceable documents 
and supporting information such as emission inventories, monitoring 
networks, and modeling demonstrations.

What Is the Federal Approval Process for a SIP?

    In order for state regulations to be incorporated into the 
Federally enforceable SIP, states must formally adopt the regulations 
and control strategies consistent with state and Federal requirements. 
This process generally includes a public notice, public hearing, public 
comment period, and a formal adoption by a state-authorized rulemaking 
body.
    Once a state rule, regulation, or control strategy is adopted, the 
state submits it to us for inclusion into the SIP. We must provide 
public notice and seek additional public comment regarding the proposed 
Federal action on the state submission. If adverse comments are 
received, they must be addressed prior to any final Federal action by 
us.
    All state regulations and supporting information approved by EPA 
under section 110 of the CAA are incorporated into the Federally 
approved SIP. Records of such SIP actions are maintained in the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) at Title 40, Part 52, entitled ``Approval and 
Promulgation of Implementation Plans.'' The actual state regulations 
which are approved are not reproduced in their entirety in the CFR 
outright but are ``incorporated by reference,'' which means that we 
have approved a given state regulation with a specific effective date.

What Does Federal Approval of a State Regulation Mean To Me?

    Enforcement of the state regulation before and after it is 
incorporated into the Federally approved SIP is primarily a state 
responsibility. However, after the regulation is Federally approved, we 
are authorized to take enforcement action against violators. Citizens 
are also offered legal recourse to address violations as described in 
section 304 of the CAA.

What Is Being Addressed in This Document?

    The state of Missouri has requested that we approve an amendment to 
the Missouri SIP which consist of a revision to Missouri's construction 
permit rule, 10 CSR 10-6.060.
    The rule amendment is intended to help streamline the construction 
permit review process in the following ways:
    1. The rule establishes a fixed fee for portable plant relocations.
    2. The rule establishes a negligible emission level to exempt very 
small projects from permit review. In general, for new construction or 
modification at previously permitted facilities, the rule provides that 
emission increases not exceeding certain levels (e.g., 0.5 pounds per 
hour or 876 pounds per year of a regulated pollutant) are exempt unless 
the construction or modification would ``appreciably'' impact air 
quality standards, or there are citizen complaints regarding the 
source. Although the term ``appreciably'' is not defined, EPA expects 
the state to review sources below these de minimis levels if the 
available information indicates that the construction or modification 
could result in a quantifiable impact on air quality standards, or 
quantifiable exceedance of a standard.
    3. Finally, the revision clarifies when particular reviews require 
analysis of air quality impacts, establishing cutoffs for nonmajor 
sources at the EPA significance levels (e.g., 40 tons per year for 
sulfur dioxide), below which sources are not required to perform 
modeling, unless they are expected to have significant air quality 
impacts. The exemption from the air quality analysis applies only to 
sources which are not major under the state's prevention of significant 
deterioration and nonattainment area major new source review (``Part 
D'') program.
    The revised rule changes subsections (1)(D), (1)(E), (5)(D), 
(6)(B), (9)(D), (10)(A), (12)(A), (12)(D), (12)(J), and removes the 
application forms from the rule. The state rule revisions were 
effective on November 30, 1999.
    Further discussion and background information is contained in the 
technical support document (TSD) prepared for this action, which is 
available from the EPA contact listed above.

Have the Requirements for Approval of a SIP Revision Been Met?

    The state submittal has met the public notice requirements for SIP 
submissions in accordance with 40 CFR 51.102. The submittal also 
satisfied the completeness criteria of 40 CFR part 51, appendix V. In 
addition, as explained above and in more detail in the TSD which is 
part of this document, the revision meets the substantive SIP 
requirements of the CAA, including section 110 and implementing 
regulations.

What Action Is EPA Taking?

    We are processing this action as a final action because the 
revisions make routine changes to the existing rules which are 
noncontroversial. Therefore, we do not anticipate any adverse comments.

II. Administrative Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this 
action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' and therefore is not 
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget. This action 
merely approves state law as meeting Federal requirements and imposes 
no additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. 
Accordingly, the Administrator certifies that this rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities 
under the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.). Because 
this rule approves preexisting requirements under state law and does 
not impose any additional enforceable duty beyond that required by 
state law, it does not contain any unfunded mandate or significantly or 
uniquely affect small governments, as described in the Unfunded 
Mandates Reform Act of 1995 (Public Law 104-4). For the same reason, 
this rule also does not significantly or uniquely affect the 
communities of tribal governments, as specified by Executive Order 
13084 (63 FR 27655, May 10, 1998). This rule will not have substantial 
direct effects on the states, on the relationship between the national 
government and the states, or on the distribution of power and 
responsibilities among the various levels of government, as specified 
in Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999), because it 
merely

[[Page 18200]]

approves a state rule implementing a Federal standard, and does not 
alter the relationship or the distribution of power and 
responsibilities established in the CAA. This rule also is not subject 
to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997), because it is 
not economically significant.
    In reviewing SIP submissions, our role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. In this context, in 
the absence of a prior existing requirement for the state to use 
voluntary consensus standards (VCS), we have no authority to disapprove 
a SIP submission for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent 
with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews a SIP submission, to use 
VCS in place of a SIP submission that otherwise satisfies the 
provisions of the CAA. Thus, the requirements of section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) do not apply. As required by section 3 of Executive Order 12988 
(61 FR 4729, February 7, 1996), in issuing this rule, we have taken the 
necessary steps to eliminate drafting errors and ambiguity, minimize 
potential litigation, and provide a clear legal standard for affected 
conduct. EPA has complied with Executive Order 12630 (53 FR 8859, March 
15, 1988) by examining the takings implications of the rule in 
accordance with the ``Attorney General's Supplemental Guidelines for 
the Evaluation of Risk and Avoidance of Unanticipated Takings'' issued 
under the Executive Order. This rule does not impose an information 
collection burden under the provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act 
of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.).
    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. We will submit a report containing this rule and other 
required information to the United States Senate, the United States 
House of Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United 
States prior to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. A 
major rule cannot take effect until 60 days after it is published in 
the Federal Register. This action is not a ``major rule'' as defined by 
5 U.S.C. 804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by June 5, 2001. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial review nor does 
it extend the time within which a petition for judicial review may be 
filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such rule or action. 
This action may not be challenged later in proceedings to enforce its 
requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).)

List of Subjects 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental 
relations, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

    Dated: March 7, 2001.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.

    Chapter I, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended 
as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.

Subpart AA--Missouri

    2. In Sec. 52.1320(c) the table is amended under Chapter 6 by 
revising the entry for ``10-6.060'' to read as follows:


Sec. 52.1320  Identification of plan.

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    (c) * * *

                                        EPA-Approved Missouri Regulations
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                                                      State
     Missouri citation              Title           effective       EPA  approval date           Explanation
                                                       date
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                                    Missouri Department of Natural Resources
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                                                        *
    Chapter 6--Air Quality Standards, Definitions, Sampling and Reference Methods, and Air Pollution Control
                                      Regulations for the State of Missouri
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10-6.060..................  Construction Permits      11/30/99  4/6/01....................  Section 9,
                             Required.                                                       pertaining to
                                                                                             hazardous air
                                                                                             pollutants, is not
                                                                                             part of the SIP.
 
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[FR Doc. 01-8479 Filed 4-5-01; 8:45 am]
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