[Federal Register Volume 68, Number 151 (Wednesday, August 6, 2003)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46489-46491]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 03-20019]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 70

[KS 189-1189a; FRL-7540-7]


Approval and Promulgation of Operating Permits Program; State of 
Kansas

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

[[Page 46490]]


ACTION: Direct final rule.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: EPA is approving revisions to the Kansas Operating Permit 
Program. On June 25, 2001, the state of Kansas requested a revision to 
change the Class I Operating Permits annual emission inventory due date 
and to revise the annual emissions fee. Approval of these revisions 
will ensure consistency between the state and Federally-approved rules.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective October 6, 2003, unless 
EPA receives adverse comments by September 5, 2003. 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 submitted either by mail or electronically. 
Written comments should be submitted to Heather Hamilton, Environmental 
Protection Agency, Air Planning and Development Branch, 901 North 5th 
Street, Kansas City, Kansas 66101. Electronic comments should be sent 
either to Heather Hamilton at [email protected] or to http://www.regulations.gov, which is an alternative method for submitting 
electronic comments to EPA. To submit comments, please follow the 
detailed instructions described in ``What action is EPA taking'' in the 
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section.
    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: Heather Hamilton at (913) 551-7039 or 
by e-mail at [email protected].

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 
the Part 70 operating permits program? What is being addressed in this 
document? What action is EPA taking?

What Is the Part 70 Operating Permits Program?

    The Clean Air Act (CAA) Amendments of 1990 requires all states to 
develop operating permits programs that meet certain Federal criteria. 
In implementing this program, the states are to require certain sources 
of air pollution to obtain permits that contain all applicable 
requirements under the CAA. One purpose of the Part 70 operating 
permits program is to improve enforcement by issuing each source a 
single permit that consolidates all of the applicable CAA requirements 
into a Federally enforceable document. By consolidating all of the 
applicable requirements for a facility into one document, the source, 
the public and the permitting authorities can more easily determine 
what CAA requirements apply and how compliance with those requirements 
is determined.
    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.
    Revisions to the state operating permits program are subject to 
public notice, comment, and EPA approval.

What Is Being Addressed in This Document?

    The state of Kansas has requested that EPA approve as a revision to 
the 40 CFR Part 70 Operating Permits Program the following revisions:
    1. This revision to K.A.R. 28-19-202 Annual Emissions Fee raised 
the annual rate from $18.00 per ton to $20.00 per ton for emissions 
occurring in 2001 and later. This revision changes the annual rate back 
to the original rate set when the Title V program was established, for 
which Kansas made a demonstration that it was collecting fees 
sufficient to cover its costs of implementing the Title V program. This 
monetary revision will adjust the balance in the air quality fee fund 
to adequately support the current actual developmental costs of the 
program.
    2. This revision to rule K.A.R. 28-19-517 Class I Operating 
Permits, annual emission inventory changed the annual inventory due 
date for Class I operating permits from April 1 of each year to June 1. 
This revision is being made to allow additional time to submit fees and 
to regulate the fee cycle with the state's budget cycle.

What Action Is EPA Taking?

    EPA is approving the revision to the Kansas Operating Permits 
Program to change the due date of the annual emission inventory from 
April 1 to June 1, and to raise the annual emissions fee from $18.00 to 
$20.00 per ton for emissions occurring in the year 2001 and later. On 
June 25, 2001, the state of Kansas submitted a request for EPA to 
revise the rules to reflect these changes.
    We are processing this action as a direct final action because the 
revisions make routine changes to the existing rules which are 
noncontroversial. Therefore, we do not anticipate any adverse comments. 
Please note that if EPA receives an adverse comment on part of this 
rule and if that part can be severed from the remainder of the rule, 
EPA may adopt as final those parts of the rule that are not the subject 
of an adverse comment.
    You may submit comments either electronically or by mail. To ensure 
proper receipt by EPA, identify the appropriate rulemaking 
identification number, KS 189-1189a, in the subject line on the first 
page of your comment. Please ensure that your comments are submitted 
within the specified comment period. Comments received after the close 
of the comment period will be marked ``late.'' EPA is not required to 
consider these late comments.
    1. Electronically. If you submit an electronic comment as 
prescribed below, EPA recommends that you include your name, mailing 
address, and an e-mail address or other contact information in the body 
of your comment. This ensures that you can be identified as the 
submitter of the comment and allows EPA to contact you in case EPA 
cannot read your comment due to technical difficulties or needs further 
information on the substance of your comment. EPA's policy is that EPA 
will not edit your comment, and any identifying or contact information 
provided in the body of a comment will be included as part of the 
comment that is placed in the official public docket. If EPA cannot 
read your comment due to technical difficulties and cannot contact you 
for clarification, EPA may not be able to consider your comment.
    a. Electronic mail. Comments may be sent by e-mail to Heather 
Hamilton at [email protected]. Please include identification 
number KS 189-1189a in the subject line. EPA's e-mail system is not an 
``anonymous access'' system. If you send an e-mail comment directly 
without going through regulations.gov, EPA's e-mail system 
automatically captures your e-mail address. E-mail addresses that are 
automatically captured by EPA's e-mail system are included as part of 
the comment that is placed in the official public docket.
    b. Regulations.gov. Your use of regulations.gov is an alternative 
method of submitting electronic comments to EPA. Go directly to http://www.regulations.gov, click on ``To Search for Regulations,'' then 
select Environmental Protection Agency and use the ``go'' button. The 
list of current EPA actions available for comment will be listed. 
Please follow the online

[[Page 46491]]

instructions for submitting comments. The system is an ``anonymous 
access'' system, which means EPA will not know your identity, e-mail 
address, or other contact information unless you provide it in the body 
of your comment.
    2. By Mail. Written comments should be sent to the name and address 
listed in the ADDRESSES section of this document.

Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    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. For this 
reason, this action is also not subject to Executive Order 13211, 
``Actions Concerning Regulations That Significantly Affect Energy 
Supply, Distribution, or Use'' (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001). 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 pre-existing 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).
    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 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000). This action also does not have Federalism 
implications because it does 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). This action merely 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, ``Protection of 
Children from Environmental Health Risks and Safety Risks'' (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997), because it is not economically significant.
    In reviewing state operating permits programs submitted pursuant to 
Title V of the CAA, EPA will approve state programs provided that they 
meet the requirements of the CAA 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 permits program 
for failure to use VCS. It would thus be inconsistent with applicable 
law for EPA, when it reviews an operating permit program submission, to 
use VCS in place of a state program 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. 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. 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. 
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 October 6, 2003. 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 70

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

    Dated: July 28, 2003.
William Rice,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 7.

0
40 CFR part 70 is amended as follows:

PART 70--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 70 continues to read as follows:

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


0
2. Appendix A to part 70 is amended by adding paragraph (b) under 
Kansas to read as follows:

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

* * * * *

Kansas

* * * * *
    (b) The Kansas Department of Health and the Environment approved 
revisions to the Kansas Administrative Record (K.A.R.), 28-19-202 
and 28-19-517, which became effective on March 23, 2001, and 
February 28, 1998, respectively. These revisions were submitted on 
June 25, 2001. We are approving these program revisions effective 
October 6, 2003.
* * * * *

[FR Doc. 03-20019 Filed 8-5-03; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P