[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 191 (Monday, October 3, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 61098-61100]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-25400]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-1059; FRL-9471-8]


Guidance for 1-Hour SO2 NAAQS SIP Submissions

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability and public comment period.

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SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given that the EPA has posted its draft non-
binding guidance titled, ``Guidance for 1-Hour SO2 NAAQS SIP 
Submissions'' on its Web site. The EPA invites public comments on this 
guidance document during the comment period specified below, and plans 
to issue an updated version of the guidance after reviewing timely 
submitted comments.

DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before November 2, 2011. 
Please refer to SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION for additional information on 
the comment period.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2010-1059, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line 
instructions for submitting comments.
     E-mail: [email protected]. Attention Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-1059.
     Fax: 202-566-9744. Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-
2010-1059.
     Mail: Air Docket, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-
1059, Environmental Protection Agency, Mail Code: 6102T, 1200 
Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460.
     Hand Delivery: EPA Docket Center, 1301 Constitution 
Avenue, NW., Room 3334, Washington, DC. Such deliveries are only 
accepted during the Docket

[[Page 61099]]

Center'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-HQ-OAR-
2010-1059. The 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 
regulations.gov or e-mail. The ``http://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 is unable to read your comment and 
contact you for clarification due to technical difficulties, 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. For additional information about EPA's public 
docket, visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. For additional instructions on submitting 
comments, go to Section II of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of 
this document.
    Docket: All documents in the 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 available only in hard copy form. Publicly available docket 
materials are available either electronically in http://www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the EPA Docket Center, EPA West, 
Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington, DC. The Public 
Reading Room is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through 
Friday, excluding legal holidays. The telephone number for the Public 
Reading Room is (202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air 
Docket is (202) 566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions concerning this action, 
please contact Larry D. Wallace, Ph.D., U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards, Air Quality Policy Division, C504-03, Research 
Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-0906, e-mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. General Information

    A. What should I consider as I prepare my comments for EPA?
    1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to EPA through 
http://www.regulations.gov or e-mail. Clearly mark the part or all of 
the information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in a disk 
or CD ROM that you mail to EPA, mark the outside of the disk or CD ROM 
as CBI and then identify electronically within the disk or CD ROM the 
specific information that is claimed as CBI. In addition to one 
complete version of the comment that includes information claimed as 
CBI, a copy of the comment that does not contain the information 
claimed as CBI must be submitted for inclusion in the public docket. 
Information so marked will not be disclosed except in accordance with 
procedures set forth in 40 CFR part 2. Send or deliver information 
identified as CBI only to the following address: Roberto Morales, U.S. 
EPA, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards, Mail Code C404-02, 
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone (919) 541-0880, e-mail at 
[email protected], Attention Docket ID No. OAR-2010-1059.
    2. Tips for Preparing Your Comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the docket number and other identifying 
information (subject heading, Federal Register date and page number).
     Follow directions. The agency may ask you to respond to 
specific questions or organize comments by referencing a part or 
section number in the guidance.
     Explain why you agree or disagree with EPA's guidance; and 
suggest alternatives and substitute language that would help to clarify 
or better explain the points made and positions taken in EPA's guidance 
document.

II. Background

    The purpose of this notice is to solicit public comments on EPA's 
recently posted draft non-binding guidance titled, ``Guidance for 1-
Hour SO2 NAAQS SIP Submissions.'' This document is available 
online at http://www.epa.gov/airquality/sulfurdioxide/implement.html or 
within the associated docket, EPA-HQ-OAR-2010-1059.
    The draft guidance document is intended to assist state and tribal 
governments in preparing State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittals 
under section 110(a)(1) of the Clean Air Act (CAA) to address 
implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of the 1-hour primary 
sulfur dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Quality Standards 
(NAAQS). The CAA directs states to submit these SIPs to EPA by no later 
than June 3, 2013, which is 3 years after promulgation of the primary 
SO2 NAAQS. To be approved, the EPA would expect the SIP 
submittals to demonstrate through the use of refined air quality 
dispersion modeling that the affected areas will attain the standard as 
expeditiously as practicable. This draft guidance provides the basic 
information that states, tribes and emission sources would need to 
address the section 110(a)(1) SIP submittal for the 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS including modeling guidance. After receiving 
timely submitted public comments on the draft guidance, the EPA plans 
to issue updated non-binding guidance. In addition, the EPA will 
continue to work closely with states and tribes to address issues 
arising under the section 110(a)(1) SIP submittals.
    EPA invites public comment on all aspects of this draft guidance 
during the 30-day comment period. The draft guidance is not a 
regulation or any other kind of final action and does not establish 
binding requirements on the EPA or any state, local, or tribal agency 
or any emissions source. While the EPA has established a docket and is 
requesting public comment on the draft guidance, this procedure does 
not alter the nature or effect of the draft guidance and does not 
constitute a formal rulemaking process or require the EPA to respond to 
public comments in the updated guidance before the EPA or other 
agencies may use the guidance in reaching decisions related to SIPs 
submitted under section 110(a)(1). The EPA retains the discretion to 
revise its guidance, issue additional guidance, propose regulations as 
appropriate, and to utilize information submitted in public comments to 
inform future decisions. Because this draft guidance does not 
constitute a formal rulemaking action, the EPA is not required to 
respond to comments, but intends to take significant comments under 
consideration in amending or updating

[[Page 61100]]

the non-binding guidance. To the extent that the EPA determines that 
comments received during the 30-day comment period justify corrections 
or clarifications to the guidance, the EPA may revise and reissue the 
guidance and post the revised document at: http://www.epa.gov/airquality/sulfurdioxide/implement.html.
    Please refer to the ADDRESSES section above in this document for 
specific instructions on submitting comments.

III. Internet Web Site for Guidance Information

    The guidance titled, ``Guidance for 1-Hour SO2 NAAQS SIP 
Submissions'' can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/airquality/sulfurdioxide/implement.html.

    Dated: September 21, 2011.
Mary Henigin,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2011-25400 Filed 9-30-11; 8:45 am]
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