[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 66 (Friday, April 5, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16374-16375]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-8299]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-7168-5]


Operating Permits Program; Notice of Location of Response Letters 
to Citizens Concerning Program Deficiencies in Texas

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is adding a letter to its web site which responds to 
citizens' comments on alleged deficiencies in the Texas air operating 
permits programs. The citizen comments were submitted to EPA as a 
result of a 90-day comment period EPA provided for members of the 
public to identify deficiencies they perceive exist in State and local 
agency operating permits programs required by title V of the Clean Air 
Act (Act). The 90-day comment period was from December 11, 2000, until 
March 12, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Herring, C304-04, Information 
Transfer and Program Integration Division, Environmental Protection 
Agency, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, 27711. Telephone: 919-
541-3195. Internet address: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On December 11, 2000 (65 FR 77376), EPA 
announced a 90-day comment period during which the public could submit 
comments identifying deficiencies they perceived to exist in State and 
local agency operating permits programs required by title V of the Act. 
The 90-day comment period ended on March 12, 2001.
    The December 11, 2000 notice solicited comment from the public 
regarding either deficiencies in the elements of the approved program, 
such

[[Page 16375]]

as deficiencies in the States' approved regulations, or deficiencies in 
how a permitting authority was implementing its program. The Agency 
indicated that it would consider information received from the public 
and determine whether it agreed or disagreed with the purported 
deficiencies and would then publish notices of those findings. Where 
the Agency agreed that a claimed shortcoming constituted a deficiency, 
it indicated it would issue a notice of deficiency. Where the Agency 
disagreed as to the existence of a deficiency, it indicated it would 
respond to the citizen comments by December 1, 2001, for comments on 
programs granted interim approval as of December 11, 2000. For programs 
granted full approval as of December 11, 2000, EPA indicated it would 
respond to citizen comments by April 1, 2002.
    In accordance with the procedures set forth in the December 11, 
2000, notice and outlined above, EPA issued a notice of deficiency for 
Texas in connection with the citizen comment letters submitted pursuant 
to the December 11, 2000, notice (see 67 FR 732, January 7, 2002). The 
State of Texas must adopt appropriate corrections to its title V 
program and submit them to EPA for approval within the timeframes set 
out in the notice of deficiency or face highway and/or offsets 
sanctions under section 179(b) of the Act \1\ and implementation of a 
whole or partial Federal operating permits program under part 71 if it 
fails to do so.
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    \1\ The EPA is in the process of promulgating a rule which will 
address the order of sanctions.
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    Also in accordance with the December 11, 2000, notice, EPA has 
issued Agency response letters to citizen comments which explain EPA's 
reasoning in those instances where the Agency disagrees that particular 
alleged problems constitute deficiencies within the meaning of part 70. 
The EPA hereby notifies the public that an EPA letter responding to 
citizen allegations concerning Texas is available at the following web 
address: (http://www.epa.gov/air/oaqps/permits/response/). In a 
previously published notice (67 FR 6709, January 13, 2002), EPA alerted 
the public to this same web site as the location for all EPA response 
letters that had been signed at that time. The EPA also notes that when 
it signs additional EPA response letters in the future, it will publish 
additional notices of availability to identify the location of its web 
site containing those letters.
    The EPA notes further that the terms ``deficiency'' and ``notice of 
deficiency'' are terms of art under the operating permits regulations 
in part 70. Thus, as explained in our letters responding to citizen 
comments, in some instances where EPA declined to issue a notice of 
deficiency, it was because the Agency disagreed that there was a 
problem with the State program or its implementation that requires 
correction. In other instances, however, EPA agreed in whole or in part 
with commenters that a program was not being properly implemented but 
nevertheless did not issue a notice of deficiency. Rather, EPA 
determined that the alleged deficiency had been corrected because the 
State had made a firm commitment to correct program implementation 
shortcomings where that could be accomplished on a timely basis by the 
State administratively without additional rulemaking or legislation.

Background

    Pursuant to section 502(b) of the Act, EPA has promulgated 
regulations establishing the minimum requirements for State and local 
air agency operating permits programs. We promulgated these regulations 
on July 21, 1992 (57 FR 32250), in part 70 of title 40, chapter I, of 
the Code of Federal Regulations. Section 502(d) of the Act requires 
each State to develop and submit to EPA an operating permits program 
meeting the requirements of the part 70 regulations and requires us to 
approve or disapprove the submitted program. In some cases, States have 
delegated authority to local city, county, or district air pollution 
control agencies to administer operating permits programs in their 
jurisdictions. These operating permits programs must meet the same 
requirements as the State programs. In accordance with section 502(g) 
of the Act and 40 CFR section 70.4(d), for 99 State and local operating 
permits programs, we granted ``interim'' rather than full approval 
because the programs substantially met, but did not fully meet, the 
provisions of part 70. For interim approved programs, we identified in 
the notice of interim approval those program deficiencies that would 
have to be corrected before we could grant the program full approval. 
As of December 11, 2000, some of those 99 programs had since been 
granted full approval and the remainder still had interim approval 
status.
    After a State or local permitting program is granted full or 
interim approval, EPA has oversight of the program to insure that the 
program is implemented correctly and is not changed in an unacceptable 
manner. Section 70.4(i) of the part 70 regulations requires permitting 
authorities to keep us apprised of any proposed program modifications 
and also to submit any program modifications to us for approval. 
Section 70.10(b) requires any approved operating permits program to be 
implemented ``* * * in accordance with the requirements of this part 
and of any agreement between the State and the Administrator concerning 
operation of the program.''
    Furthermore, sections 70.4(i) and 70.10(b) provide authority for us 
to require permitting authorities to correct program or implementation 
deficiencies. As explained previously, EPA has exercised these 
authorities by in some instances issuing notices of deficiency and in 
other instances issuing letters explaining why we do not agree that 
deficiencies exist.

Administrative Requirements

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, petitions for judicial review 
of EPA's action responding to the citizen letter on Texas' operating 
permits programs may be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit within 60 days of April 5, 2002.

    Dated: March 25, 2002.
Robert G. Kella,
Acting Director, Information Transfer and Program Integration Division.
[FR Doc. 02-8299 Filed 4-4-02; 8:45 am]
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