[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 17 (Friday, January 25, 2008)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 4473-4475]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1320]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 70

[EPA-R05-OAR-2007-1198; FRL-8521-3]


State Operating Permit Programs; Ohio; Revisions to the Acid Rain 
Regulations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking direct final action to approve, as a revision to 
Ohio's operating permits program, revisions to Ohio's Acid Rain Permits 
and Compliance Rules found in Chapter 3745-103 of the Ohio 
Administrative Code (OAC). The changes made to Ohio's OAC 3745-103 
Rules include rules for phase II acid rain permits and new information 
on items incorporated by reference. EPA granted full approval of Ohio's 
operating permits program on August 15, 1995, which became effective on 
October 1, 1995. On March 23, 2007 Ohio submitted the revised acid rain 
rules to EPA for approval. This Federal Register notice approves these 
revised acid rain rules into Ohio's Title V operating permits program.

DATES: This direct final rule will be effective on March 25, 2008, 
unless EPA receives adverse comments by February 25, 2008. 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: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2007-1198, by one of the following methods:
     www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected].
     Fax: (312) 886-5824.
     Mail: Pamela Blakley, Chief, Air Permits Section, Air 
Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 
5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
     Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region 5 
address. Such deliveries are only accepted during the Docket's normal 
hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID No. EPA-R05-OAR-
2007-1198. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online 
at www.regulations.gov, including any personal information provided, 
unless the comment includes information claimed to be Confidential 
Business Information (CBI) or other information whose disclosure is 
restricted by statute. Do not submit information that you consider to 
be CBI or otherwise protected through www.regulations.gov or e-mail. 
The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' system, 
which means EPA will not know your identity or contact information 
unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you send an e-
mail comment directly to EPA without going through www.regulations.gov, 
your e-mail address will be automatically captured and included as part 
of the comment that is placed in the public docket and made available 
on the Internet. If you submit an electronic comment, EPA recommends 
that you include your name and other contact information in the body of 
your comment and with any disk or CD-ROM you submit. 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. Electronic 
files should avoid the use of special characters, any form of 
encryption, and be free of any defects or viruses.
    Docket: All documents in the electronic docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, will be publicly available only in hard copy 
form. Publicly available docket materials are available either 
electronically in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy during normal 
business hours at the Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, Air 
and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 
60604.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard Angelbeck, (312) 886-9698, or 
by e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. What is being addressed in this document?
II. What are the program changes that EPA is approving?
III. What action is EPA taking today?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews.

I. What is being addressed in this document?

    The Clean Air Act (Act) requires all state and local permitting 
authorities to develop operating permits programs that meet the 
requirements of Title V of the Act, 42 U.S.C. 7661-7661(f), and its 
implementing regulations, 40 CFR part 70 (part 70). EPA fully approved 
Ohio's Title V operating permits program on August 15, 1995 (60 FR 
42045). On December 19, 1996, EPA promulgated a final rule (61 FR 
67111) for the second phase of the Nitrogen Oxides Program under Title 
IV of the Act. The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (OEPA) revised 
its acid rain rules in OAC Chapter 3745-103. The revised acid rain 
rules became effective on June 27, 2002.
    On October 2, 2002, OEPA submitted to EPA the revised acid rain 
rules for approval into the Ohio Title V operating permits program. On 
November 27, 2002, EPA provided to OEPA comments on the acid rain 
rules. In response to EPA's comments, and pursuant to a five-year 
mandatory rule review, OEPA again revised its acid rain rules, which 
became effective on January 12, 2007. On March 23, 2007, OEPA submitted 
to EPA these new and revised acid rain rules as a revision to Ohio's 
fully approved Title V operating permits program.

[[Page 4474]]

II. What are the program changes that EPA is approving?

    On June 27, 2002 OEPA revised its acid rain rules in OAC chapter 
3745-103 to include rules for Phase II acid rain permits. On May 12, 
2005, EPA published amendments to the final acid rain rules (70 FR 
25334), listing criteria for the state operating permit program (40 CFR 
72.72) and requirements for the state issuance of Phase II permits (40 
CFR 72.73). These requirements became effective July 1, 2006. OEPA was 
required to adopt these rules as part of its acid rain program. On 
January 12, 2007, OEPA again revised its acid rain rules in response to 
EPA comments on the June 27, 2002 rules, and also to correct typos, 
rule language formatting issues, and to add information on items 
incorporated by reference.
    EPA has determined that, because OEPA's amendments to its acid rain 
rules do not interfere with the operation of the acid rain program, 
they meet the criteria of 40 CFR 72.72. The State submission likewise 
complies with the provisions of 40 CFR 72.73, which requires that a 
state authorized to administer and enforce an operating permit program 
under part 70 must have a state acid rain program accepted by the 
Administrator, and that the state must be responsible for administering 
and enforcing acid rain permits effective in Phase II for all affected 
sources. Among other things, Ohio has demonstrated that (a) it had 
issued all Phase II acid rain permits on or before December 31, 1997, 
and (b) for units subject to an acid rain NOX emissions 
limitation, on or before January 1, 1999, it had amended the acid rain 
permits as required by 40 CFR 72.83 to include any NOX early 
election plan that was approved by the Administrator under 40 CFR 76.8.
    EPA is approving, and incorporating into OEPA's Title V operating 
permits program, the following revisions to OEPA's acid rain rules: OAC 
rules 3745-103-01 to 3745-103-09, 3745-103-11 to 3745-103-63, 3745-103-
65, and 3745-103-66. EPA is also approving into the Ohio Title V 
program new OAC rule 3745-103-43, and the rescission of OAC rules 3745-
103-10, 3745-103-43, 3745-103-64, and 3745-103-67. The new 3745-103-43 
rule replaced the prior rule of the same title because Ohio's rule-
writing procedures require that changes to this rule be managed as a 
rescission followed by a replacement. OEPA rules 3745-103-10, 3745-103-
64, and 3745-103-67 were rescinded because OEPA judged that rule 
language to be obsolete.

III. What action is EPA taking today?

    EPA is approving into Ohio's Title V operating permits program the 
revision submitted by OEPA on March 23, 2007. EPA is taking this action 
without prior proposal because the Agency views this as a 
noncontroversial amendment and anticipates no adverse comment. However, 
in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of today's Federal Register, EPA is 
publishing a separate document that will serve as the proposal to 
approve the state plan if adverse comments are filed. This rule will be 
effective on March 25, 2008 without further notice unless EPA receives 
adverse comments by February 25, 2008. If EPA receives adverse comment, 
EPA will publish a timely withdrawal in the Federal Register informing 
the public that the rule will not take effect.
    EPA will not institute a second comment period on this action. Any 
parties interested in commenting must do so at this time.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General 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. 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 (Pub. L. 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 (59 FR 22951, 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 
requirement, and does not alter the relationship or the distribution of 
power and responsibilities established in the Act. 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 approves a state rule implementing a Federal 
standard.
    In reviewing State Implementation Plan (SIP) submissions, EPA's 
role is to approve state choices, provided that they meet the criteria 
of the Act. 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 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 Act. Thus, the requirements 
of section 12(d) of the National Technology Transfer and Advancement 
Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272) 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.)

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    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. This rule is not a 
``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Act, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States

[[Page 4475]]

Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by March 25, 2008. 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 approves changes to Ohio's Title V 
operating permits program and may not be challenged later in 
proceedings to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2) of the 
Act.)

Lists of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 70

    Environmental protection, Administrative practice and procedure, 
Air pollution control, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, 
Incorporation by reference, Nitrogen dioxide, and Sulfur oxides.

    Dated: January 15, 2008.
Margaret Guerriero,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.

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40 CFR part 70 is amended as follows:

PART 70--[AMENDED]

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

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


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

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

* * * * *

Ohio

* * * * *
    (c) The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency submitted an 
operating permits program amendment on March 23, 2007. The program 
amendment contained in the March 23, 2007 submittal will update 
Ohio's existing Acid Rain program. The state is hereby granted 
approval effective on March 25, 2008.
* * * * *

[FR Doc. E8-1320 Filed 1-24-08; 8:45 am]
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