[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 89 (Monday, May 9, 2011)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 26679-26681]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-11215]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2010-0770; FRL-9303-1]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Delaware; Requirements for Preconstruction Review, Prevention of 
Significant Deterioration

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision submitted by the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and 
Environmental Control on April 1, 2010. This revision will establish 
nitrogen oxides (NOX) as a precursor to ozone within the 
Delaware SIP. This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before June 8, 2011.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2010-0770 by one of the following methods:
    A. http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. E-mail: [email protected].
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2010-0770, Kathleen Cox, Associate Director, 
Office of Permits and Air Toxics, Mailcode 3AP10, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, 
Pennsylvania 19103.
    D. Hand Delivery: At the previously-listed EPA Region III 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-R03-OAR-
2010-0770. EPA's policy is that all comments received will be included 
in the public docket without change, and may be made available online 
at http://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 http://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 http://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 
http://www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, i.e., CBI or other information 
whose disclosure is restricted by statute. Certain other material, such 
as copyrighted material, is not placed on the Internet and will be 
publicly

[[Page 26680]]

available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket materials 
are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in 
hard copy during normal business hours at the Air Protection Division, 
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 1650 Arch Street, 
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the State submittal are 
available at the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and 
Environmental Control, 89 Kings Highway, P.O. Box 1401, Dover, Delaware 
19903.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sharon McCauley, (215) 814-3376, or by 
e-mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. On April 1, 2010, Delaware 
submitted a revision to its SIP for changes noted in Regulation 1125, 
Requirements for Preconstruction Review, Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration (PSD) found in section 3.0 of Regulation 1125 (Regulation 
1125, section 3.0).

I. Background

    This SIP revision governs the permits for constructing and 
significantly modifying major stationary sources of air pollutants in 
PSD areas located in Delaware. This regulatory revision was made 
effective as a legislative rule in Delaware on April 11, 2010. This 
regulatory revision became effective as a legislative rule in the State 
on April 11, 2010 and can be found in Regulation 1125, section 3.0. 
This SIP revision, as proposed, will only replace the current 
regulations found in Regulation 1125, section 3.0 which establish 
NOX as a precursor to ozone, but will keep intact the 
formally approved Delaware SIP increments for NOX found in 
the Federal Register action for Delaware dated July 27, 1993 (58 FR 
40065).
    Delaware's proposed SIP submission addresses changes needed in the 
part C PSD permit program. This SIP submission also corrects 
deficiencies identified by EPA in the March 27, 2008 Federal Register 
action entitled, ``Completeness Findings for Section 110(a) State 
Implementation Plans for the 8-hour Ozone National Ambient Air Quality 
Standards (1997 Ozone NAAQS)'' (73 FR 16205). EPA's proposed approval 
of this SIP submission addresses Delaware's compliance with the portion 
of CAA Section 110(a)(2)(C) & (J) relating to the CAA's part C permit 
program for the 1997 Ozone NAAQS, because this proposed approval would 
approve regulating NOX as a precursor to ozone in Delaware's 
SIP in accordance with the Federal Register action dated November 29, 
2005 (70 FR 71612) that finalized NOX as a precursor for 
ozone regulations set forth at 40 CFR 51.166 and in 40 CFR 52.21.
    We have determined that the current amendments to Delaware's PSD 
permit program at Regulation 1125, section 3.0, as submitted on April 
1, 2010, meet the minimum requirements of 40 CFR 51.166 and the CAA. 
This SIP proposal is being proposed as a full approvable revision to 
the Delaware SIP. No other changes to the currently approved SIP are 
being proposed for approval at this time.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    This rule establishes a state construction permit program 
consistent with the federal CAA's Title I program and implementing 
regulations at 40 CFR 51.166, ``Prevention of Significant Deterioration 
of Air Quality.'' Regulation 1125, section 3.0 is part of the SIP and 
sets forth the criteria and procedures for major stationary sources to 
obtain a permit to construct, operate and/or modify a major stationary 
source.
    As required by 40 CFR Part 51, Subpart I--``Review of New Sources 
and Modifications,'' this rule adopts criteria and procedures for the 
prevention of significant deterioration of air quality that are 
consistent with the governing federal regulation at 40 CFR 51.166. 
Promulgation of this rule by the Legislature was necessary for Delaware 
to fulfill its responsibilities under 40 CFR Part 51 and the CAA, as 
amended. Revisions to the Delaware rule simply added new references to 
include NOX as a precursor to ozone to comport with federal 
counterpart language. The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and 
Environmental Control has now submitted a final rule Regulation 1125, 
section 3.0 as a proposed revision to the SIP. We are now proposing to 
approve NOX as a precursor to ozone in the Delaware SIP.

III. Proposed Action

    Delaware's proposed SIP submission addresses changes needed to be 
equivalent to the CAA's part C PSD permit program. This SIP submission 
also corrects deficiencies identified by EPA in the March 27, 2008 
Federal Register action entitled, ``Completeness Findings for Section 
110(a) State Implementation Plans for the 8-hour Ozone National Ambient 
Air Quality Standards (1997 Ozone NAAQS)'' (73 FR 16205). EPA's 
proposed approval of this SIP submission addresses Delaware's 
compliance with the portion of CAA Section 110(a)(2)(C) & (J) relating 
to the CAA's part C permit program for the 1997 Ozone NAAQS, because 
this proposal would approve regulating NOX as a precursor to 
ozone in Delaware's SIP in accordance with the Federal Register action 
dated November 29, 2005 (70 FR 71612) that finalized NOX as 
a precursor for ozone regulations set forth at 40 CFR 51.166 and in 40 
CFR 52.21.
    EPA is proposing to approve this Delaware SIP revision for the 
changes made to Regulation 1125, section 3.0, as was submitted on April 
1, 2010. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues discussed in 
this document. These comments will be considered before taking final 
action.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission that complies with the provisions of the Act and applicable 
Federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). Thus, in 
reviewing SIP submissions, EPA's role is to approve state choices, 
provided that they meet the criteria of the CAA. Accordingly, this 
action merely proposes to approve state law as meeting Federal 
requirements and does not impose additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law. For that reason, this proposed action:
     Is not a ``significant regulatory action'' subject to 
review by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 
12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993);
     Does not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Is certified as not having a significant economic impact 
on a substantial number of small entities under the Regulatory 
Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.);
     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);
     Does not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Is not an economically significant regulatory action based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Is not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Is not subject to requirements of Section 12(d) of the 
National Technology Transfer and Advancement Act of 1995 (15 U.S.C. 272 
note) because

[[Page 26681]]

application of those requirements would be inconsistent with the CAA; 
and
     Does not provide EPA with the discretionary authority to 
address, as appropriate, disproportionate human health or environmental 
effects, using practicable and legally permissible methods, under 
Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 16, 1994).
    This proposed rule, for the inclusion of NOX as a 
precursor to ozone in Delaware for the PSD program, does not have 
tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, 
November 9, 2000), because the SIP is not approved to apply in Indian 
country located in the state, and will not impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Intergovernmental 
relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

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

    Dated: April 20, 2011.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2011-11215 Filed 5-6-11; 8:45 am]
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