[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 147 (Tuesday, July 31, 2012)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Page 45326]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-18520]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R09-OAR-2012-0021; FRL-9707-6]


Approval, Disapproval and Promulgation of Air Quality 
Implementation Plans; Arizona; Regional Haze State and Federal 
Implementation Plans

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule; notice of additional public hearings and 
extension of comment period.

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SUMMARY: EPA is holding two additional public hearings in Arizona on 
August 14 and 15, 2012, for the proposed rule, ``Approval, Disapproval 
and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Arizona; Regional 
Haze State and Federal Implementation Plans'', published in the Federal 
Register on July 20, 2012 (77 FR 42833). The two hearings will provide 
opportunities for public comment in addition to the public hearing 
already scheduled for July 31, 2012, in Phoenix, Arizona. EPA also is 
extending the public comment period to September 18, 2012, to provide 
60 days of comment after the publication of the proposed rule.

DATES: The public hearings will be held on August 14 and 15, 2012. See 
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for further details about the 
public hearings. Extension of comment period: September 18, 2012.

ADDRESSES: See the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section for hearing 
locations.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: If you have questions about the public 
hearings, please contact Thomas Webb, U.S. EPA, Region 9, phone (415) 
947-4139, email [email protected]. If you are a person with a 
disability under the ADA and require a reasonable accommodation for 
this event, please contact Philip Kum at [email protected] or at (415) 
947-3566 by July 31, 2012.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section 169A of the Clean Air Act (CAA) 
establishes as a national goal the ``prevention of any future, and the 
remedying of any existing, impairment of visibility in mandatory Class 
I Federal areas which impairment results from manmade air pollution.'' 
Arizona has twelve mandatory Class I areas; several Class I areas in 
other states are also affected by emissions from Arizona facilities.
    Regional haze is visibility impairment caused by the cumulative air 
pollutant emissions from numerous sources over a wide geographic area. 
EPA's proposed Regional Haze Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) for 
Arizona addresses the requirements of the CAA and EPA's regional haze 
regulations pertaining to Best Available Retrofit Technology (BART) for 
three electric generating stations in Arizona: Apache Generating 
Station, Cholla Power Plant and Coronado Generating Station. EPA will 
propose to address other facilities and other elements of the Arizona 
SIP in a later action. The proposed rule, ``Approval, Disapproval and 
Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Arizona; Regional 
Haze State and Federal Implementation Plans'', was published in the 
Federal Register on July 20, 2012 (77 FR 42833).
    The proposed rule and information on which the proposed rule relies 
are available in the docket for this action. Generally, documents in 
the docket for this action will be available electronically at 
www.regulations.gov and in hard copy at EPA Region IX, 75 Hawthorne 
Street, San Francisco, California. While all documents in the docket 
are listed at www.regulations.gov, some information may be publicly 
available only at the hard copy location (e.g., copyrighted material, 
large maps), and some may not be publicly available in either location 
(e.g., Confidential Business Information). To inspect the hard copy 
materials, please schedule an appointment during normal business hours 
with the contact listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section.
    Public hearings: EPA will hold public hearings at the following 
dates, times and locations to accept oral and written comments into the 
record. These hearings will provide further opportunities for public 
comment beyond the initial hearing scheduled for July 31, 2012, in 
Phoenix, Arizona. See the proposed rule for more information on the 
July 31 hearing.
    Date: August 14, 2012.
    Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.
    Location: Northland Pioneer College, Painted Desert Campus, Tiponi 
Community Center, Conference Room, 2251 East Navajo Boulevard, 
Holbrook, AZ 86025.
    Date: August 15, 2012.
    Time: 6:00-8:00 p.m.
    Location: Cochise College, Benson Center, Rooms 113 and 115, 1025 
South State Route 90, Benson, AZ 85602-6501.
    The public hearings will provide the public with an opportunity to 
present data, views, or arguments concerning the proposed action for 
Arizona. EPA may ask clarifying questions during the oral 
presentations, but will not respond to the presentations at that time. 
Simultaneous translation in Spanish will be available during the public 
hearings. Written statements and supporting information submitted 
during the comment period will be considered with the same weight as 
any oral comments and supporting information presented at the public 
hearings. Please consult the proposed rule for guidance on how to 
submit written comments to EPA.
    At the public hearings, the hearing officer may limit the time 
available for each commenter to address the proposal to five minutes or 
less if the hearing officer determines it is appropriate. Any person 
may provide written or oral comments and data pertaining to our 
proposal at the public hearings. We will include verbatim transcripts, 
in English, of the hearing and written statements in the rulemaking 
docket.
    Extension of comment period: EPA also is extending the public 
comment period for the proposed rule to provide more time for comments 
and to align with the dates of the public hearings. The comment period 
will now end on September 18, 2012.

    Dated: July 24, 2012.
Kerry J. Drake,
Acting Air Division Director, Region IX.
[FR Doc. 2012-18520 Filed 7-30-12; 8:45 am]
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