[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 185 (Monday, September 24, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 48806-48808]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-23763]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 70

[AD-FRL-7064-1]


Clean Air Act Final Approval of Operating Permits Program; State 
of New Hampshire

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is taking final action to fully approve the Clean Air 
Act Operating Permits Program of the State of New Hampshire for the 
purpose of complying with Federal requirements for an approvable State 
program to issue operating permits to all major stationary sources of 
air pollution, and to certain other sources. EPA granted interim 
approval to New Hampshire's operating permit program on October 2, 
1996.

DATES: This direct final rule is effective on November 23, 2001 without 
further notice, unless EPA receives relevant adverse comment by October 
24, 2001. If EPA receives relevant adverse comments, EPA will publish a 
timely withdrawal of the direct final rule in the Federal Register and 
inform the public that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Comments may be mailed to Steven Rapp, Unit Manager, Air 
Permit Program Unit, Office of Ecosystem Protection (mail code CAP) 
U.S.

[[Page 48807]]

Environmental Protection Agency, EPA--New England, One Congress Street, 
Suite 1100, Boston, MA 02114-2023. Copies of the State submittal, and 
other supporting documentation relevant to this action, are available 
for public inspection during normal business hours, by appointment at 
the Office of Ecosystem Protection, U.S. Environmental Protection 
Agency, EPA--New England, One Congress Street, 11th floor, Boston, MA.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ida E. Gagnon, (617) 918-1653.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: This section provides additional information 
by addressing the following questions:

What Is the operating permit program?
How has New Hampshire addressed EPA's interim approval issue?
What is involved in this final action?

What Is the Operating Permits Program?

    The Clean Air Act Amendments (CAA) of 1990 required all state and 
local permitting authorities to develop operating permit programs that 
meet certain Federal criteria. 42 U.S.C. 7661-7661e. In implementing 
the operating permit programs, the permitting authorities require 
certain sources of air pollution to obtain permits that contain all 
applicable requirements under the CAA. The focus of the operating 
permit program is to improve compliance and enforcement by issuing each 
source a permit that consolidates all of the applicable CAA 
requirements into a federally enforceable document. By consolidating 
all of the applicable requirements for a facility, the source, the 
public, and the permitting authorities can more easily determine what 
CAA requirements apply and how to determine compliance with those 
requirements.
    Sources required to obtain an operating permit under this program 
include ``major'' sources of air pollution and certain other sources 
specified in the CAA or in EPA's implementing regulations. See 40 CFR 
Sec. 70.3. For example, all sources regulated under the acid rain 
program, regardless of size, must obtain operating permits. Examples of 
major sources include: those that have the potential to emit 100 tons 
per year or more of volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, lead, 
sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, or particulate matter (PM 10); those 
that emit 10 tons per year of any single hazardous air pollutant 
specifically listed under the CAA (HAP); or those that emit 25 tons per 
year or more of a combination of HAPs. In areas that are not meeting 
the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone, carbon monoxide, 
or particulate matter, major sources are defined by the gravity of the 
nonattainment classification. For example, in ozone nonattainment areas 
classified as ``serious,'' such as parts of southern New Hampshire, 
major sources include those with the potential of emitting 50 tons per 
year or more of volatile organic compounds or nitrogen oxides.

How Has New Hampshire Addressed EPA's Interim Approval Issue?

    Where an operating permit program substantially, but not fully, 
meets the criteria outlined in the implementing regulations codified at 
40 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) part 70, EPA may grant the program 
interim approval. Because New Hampshire's operating permit program 
substantially, but not fully, met the requirements of part 70, EPA 
granted interim approval to the program in a rulemaking published on 
October 2, 1996 (61 FR 51370). In order for EPA to grant full approval 
to New Hampshire's operating permits program, they had to amend their 
regulations to provide for ``section 502(b)(10) changes'' at a Title V 
source. On May 14, 2001, New Hampshire submitted a revision to its 
operating permits program incorporating the relevant sections of 40 CFR 
Sec. 70.4(b)(12) governing ``section 502(b)(10) changes.'' The State 
regulations implementing the necessary changes are Env-A 609.08(c)(3) 
and 612.02.

What Is Involved in This Final Action?

    The State of New Hampshire's program now addresses the interim 
approval issue EPA identified under Part 70. Therefore, EPA is taking 
final action to fully approve the State's operating permit program. EPA 
is publishing this action without prior proposal because the Agency 
views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to grant full approval should relevant adverse 
comments be filed. This action will be effective November 23, 2001 
unless the Agency receives adverse comments by October 24, 2001.
    If EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. The EPA will not 
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting 
should do so at this time. If EPA receives no such comments, the public 
is advised that this action will be effective on November 23, 2001.

Administrative Requirements

    Under Executive Order 12866, ``Regulatory Planning and Review'' (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993), this proposed action is not a ``significant 
regulatory action'' and therefore is not subject to review by the 
Office of Management and Budget. Under the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) the Administrator certifies that this proposed 
rule will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities because it merely approves state law as 
meeting federal requirements and imposes no additional requirements 
beyond those imposed by state law. This rule does not contain any 
unfunded mandates and does not significantly or uniquely affect small 
governments, as described in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Public Law 104-4) because it proposes to approve pre-existing 
requirements under state law and does not impose any additional 
enforceable duties beyond that required by state law. This rule also 
does not have tribal implications because it will not have a 
substantial direct effect on one or more Indian tribes, on the 
relationship between the Federal Government and Indian tribes, or on 
the distribution of power and responsibilities between the Federal 
Government and Indian tribes, as specified by Executive Order 13175, 
``Consultation and Coordination with Indian Tribal Governments'' (65 FR 
67249, November 9, 2000). This rule also does not have Federalism 
implications because it 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, 
``Federalism'' (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999). The rule merely proposes 
to approve existing requirements under state law, and does not alter 
the relationship or the distribution of power and responsibilities 
between the State and the Federal government established in the Clean 
Air Act. This proposed rule also is not subject to Executive Order 
13045, ``Protection of Children from Environmental Health Risks and 
Safety Risks'' (62 FR 19885, April 23, 1997) or Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply,

[[Page 48808]]

Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355 (May 22, 2001), because it is not a 
significant regulatory action under Executive Order 12866. This action 
will not impose any collection of information subject to the provisions 
of the Paperwork Reduction Act, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq., other than 
those previously approved and assigned OMB control number 2060-0243. 
For additional information concerning these requirements, see 40 CFR 
part 70. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not 
required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays 
a current valid OMB control number.
    In reviewing State operating permit programs submitted pursuant to 
Title V of the Clean Air Act, EPA will approve State programs provided 
that they meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act and EPA's 
regulations codified at 40 CFR part 70. In this context, in the absence 
of a prior existing requirement for the State to use voluntary 
consensus standards (VCS), EPA has no authority to disapprove a State 
operating permit program for failure to use VCS. It would thus be 
inconsistent with applicable law for EPA, when it reviews an operating 
permit program , to use VCS in place of a State program that otherwise 
satisfies the provisions of the Clean Air Act. 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. 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. section 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. EPA will submit a report containing this 
rule and other required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. 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. 
section 804(2).
    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by November 23, 2001. Interested 
parties should comment in response to the proposed rule rather than 
petition for judicial review, unless the objection arises after the 
comment period allowed for in the proposal. 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 in 40 CFR Part 70

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Intergovernmental relations, Operating permits, 
Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: September 14, 2001.
Ira W. Leighton,
Acting Regional Administrator, EPA New England.

    Part 70, title 40 of the Code of Federal Regulations is amended as 
follows:

PART 70--[AMENDED]

    1. The authority citation for part 70 continues to read as follows:

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

    2. Appendix A to part 70 is amended by adding paragraph (b) in the 
entry for New Hampshire to read as follows:

Appendix A to Part 70--Approval Status of State and Local Operating 
Permits Programs

* * * * *

New Hampshire

* * * * *
    (b) The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services 
submitted program revisions on May 14, 2001. EPA is hereby granting 
New Hampshire full approval effective on November 23, 2001.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 01-23763 Filed 9-21-01; 8:45 am]
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