[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 64 (Wednesday, April 3, 2013)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 19998-20001]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-07654]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0814; FRL-9797-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Florida; Prong 
3 of Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) Infrastructure Requirement for the 1997 
and 2006 Fine Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is taking final action to approve in part, and disapprove 
in part, the State Implementation Plan (SIP) submissions, submitted by 
the State of Florida, through the Florida Department of Environmental 
Protection (FDEP) on April 18, 2008, and September 23, 2009. This final 
action addresses the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) requirements pertaining 
to prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) for the 1997 annual 
and 2006 24-hour fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National 
Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) infrastructure SIPs. The CAA 
requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, 
maintenance, and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by EPA, which is 
commonly referred to as an ``infrastructure'' SIP. EPA is approving in 
part, and disapproving in part, the submission for Florida that relates 
to adequate provisions prohibiting emissions that interfere with any 
other state's required measures to prevent significant deterioration of 
its air quality. All other applicable infrastructure requirements for 
the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS associated with 
Florida have been addressed in separate rulemakings.

DATES: Effective Date: This rule will be effective May 3, 2013.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0814. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the 
index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential 
Business Information 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 through www.regulations.gov or in hard 
copy at the Regulatory Development Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. EPA requests that if at all possible, you contact the 
person listed in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section to 
schedule your inspection. The Regional Office's official hours of 
business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 to 4:30 excluding federal 
holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Lakeman, Regulatory Development 
Section, Air Planning Branch, Air, Pesticides and Toxics Management 
Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth 
Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. The telephone number is (404) 
562-9043. Mr. Lakeman can be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. This Action
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    Upon promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS, sections 110(a)(1) and 
(2) of the CAA require states to address basic SIP requirements, 
including emissions inventories, monitoring, and modeling to assure 
attainment and maintenance for that new NAAQS. On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 
38652), EPA promulgated a new annual PM2.5 NAAQS and on 
October 17, 2006 (71 FR 61144), EPA promulgated a new 24-hour NAAQS. On 
December 5, 2012, EPA proposed to approve in part, and disapprove in 
part, Florida's submission addressing section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) 
related to PSD. A summary of the background for today's final action is 
provided below. See EPA's December 5, 2012, proposed rulemaking (77 FR 
72287) for more detail.
    Section 110(a) of the CAA requires states to submit SIPs to provide 
for the implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of a new or 
revised NAAQS within three years following the promulgation of such 
NAAQS, or within such shorter period as EPA may prescribe. Section 
110(a) imposes the obligation upon states to make a SIP submission to 
EPA for a new or revised NAAQS, but the contents of that submission may 
vary depending upon the facts and circumstances. The data and 
analytical tools available at the time the state develops and submits 
the SIP for a new or revised NAAQS affects the content of the 
submission. The contents of such SIP submissions may also vary 
depending upon what provisions the state's existing SIP already 
contains. In the case of the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS, states typically have met the basic program 
elements required in section 110(a)(2) through earlier SIP submissions 
in connection with previous PM NAAQS.
    More specifically, section 110(a)(1) provides the procedural and 
timing requirements for SIPs. Section 110(a)(2) lists specific elements 
that states must meet for ``infrastructure'' SIP requirements related 
to a newly established or revised NAAQS. As already mentioned, these 
requirements include SIP infrastructure elements such as modeling, 
monitoring, and emissions inventories that are designed to assure 
attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS. However, in this action, EPA 
is only addressing element 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) related to PSD.
    Section 110(a)(2)(D) has two components; 110(a)(2)(D)(i) and 
110(a)(2)(D)(ii). Section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) includes four distinct 
components, commonly referred to as ``prongs,'' that must be addressed 
in SIP submissions. The first two prongs, which are codified in section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I), are provisions that prohibit any source or other 
type of emissions activity in one state from contributing significantly 
to nonattainment of the NAAQS in another state (``prong 1''), and 
interfering with maintenance of the NAAQS in another state (``prong 
2''). The third and fourth prongs, which are codified in section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II), are provisions that prohibit emissions activity in 
one state interfering with measures required to prevent significant 
deterioration of air quality in another state (``prong 3''), or to 
protect visibility in another state (``prong 4''). Section 
110(a)(2)(D)(ii) requires SIPs to include provisions insuring 
compliance with sections 115 and 126 of the Act, relating to interstate 
and international pollution abatement.
    In previous actions, EPA has already taken action to address 
Florida's SIP submissions related to sections 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) and 
110(a)(2)(D)(ii) for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 
NAAQS. Today's final rulemaking action relates only to requirements 
related to prong 3 of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i), which as previously 
described, requires that the SIP contain adequate provisions 
prohibiting emissions that interfere with any other state's required 
measures to prevent

[[Page 19999]]

significant deterioration of its air quality.

II. This Action

    EPA is taking final action to approve in part, and disapprove in 
part Florida's infrastructure submissions as demonstrating that the 
State meets the applicable requirements of prong 3 of section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i) of the CAA, that relate to adequate provisions 
prohibiting emissions that interfere with any other state's required 
measures to prevent significant deterioration of its air quality for 
the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. Section 110(a) 
of the CAA requires that each state adopt and submit a SIP for the 
implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated 
by the EPA, which is commonly referred to as an ``infrastructure'' SIP.
    On December 5, 2012, EPA proposed to approve in part, and 
disapprove in part, Florida's April 18, 2008, and September 23, 2009, 
infrastructure submissions for the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS, addressing prong 3 of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i). 
At present, there are four regulations that are required to be adopted 
into the SIP to meet the PSD-related infrastructure requirements. Of 
these four regulations EPA has approved the following three into the 
Florida SIP.
    1. EPA's approval of Florida's PSD/New Source Review (NSR) 
regulations which address the Ozone Implementation NSR Update 
requirements was published in the Federal Register on June 15, 2012 (77 
FR 35862).
    2. EPA's approval of Florida's NSR PM2.5 Rule was 
published in the Federal Register on September 19, 2012 (77 FR 58027).
    3. EPA's approval of Florida's PSD/PM2.5 approving 
PM2.5 increments was published in the Federal Register on 
September 19, 2012 (77 FR 58027). These three approval actions 
demonstrate that Florida's SIP-approved PSD program meets three of the 
four required regulatory elements necessary to satisfy prong 3 of 
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i). See EPA's December 5, 2012, proposed rule (77 
FR 72287) for more detail.
    With respect to the fourth necessary PSD regulatory element--the 
Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Tailoring Rule--Florida did not submit a SIP 
revision to adopt the appropriate emission thresholds for determining 
which new stationary sources and modification projects become subject 
to PSD permitting requirements for their GHG emissions as promulgated 
in the GHG Tailoring Rule. Therefore, Florida's federally-approved SIP 
contained errors that resulted in its failure to address, or provide 
adequate legal authority for, the implementation of a GHG PSD program 
in Florida. In the GHG SIP Call,\1\ EPA determined that the State of 
Florida's SIP was substantially inadequate to achieve CAA requirements 
because its existing PSD program does not apply to GHG-emitting 
sources. This rule finalized a SIP call for 15 state and local 
permitting authorities including Florida. EPA explained that if a 
state, identified in the SIP call, failed to submit the required 
corrective SIP revision by the applicable deadline, EPA would 
promulgate a Federal Implementation Plan (FIP) under CAA section 
110(c)(1)(A) for that state to govern PSD permitting for GHG. On 
December 30, 2010, EPA promulgated a FIP \2\ because Florida failed to 
submit, by its December 22, 2010, deadline, the corrective SIP revision 
to apply its PSD program to sources of GHG consistent with the 
thresholds described in the GHG Tailoring rule. The FIP ensured that a 
permitting authority (i.e., EPA) would be available to issue 
preconstruction PSD permits to GHG-emitting sources in the State of 
Florida. EPA took these actions through interim final rulemaking, 
effective upon publication, to ensure the availability of a permitting 
authority--EPA--in Florida for GHG-emitting sources when those sources 
became subject to PSD on January 2, 2011.
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    \1\ ``Action to Ensure Authority to Issue Permits Under the 
Prevention of Significant Deterioration Program to Sources of 
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Finding of Substantial Inadequacy and SIP 
Call, Final Rule'' 75 FR 77698 (December 13, 2010).
    \2\ ``Action to Ensure Authority to Issue Permits under the 
Prevention of Significant Deterioration Program to Sources of 
Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Federal Implementation Plan--Final Rule'' 
75 FR 82246 (December 30, 2010).
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    The Florida SIP currently does not provide adequate legal authority 
to address the GHG PSD permitting requirements at or above the levels 
of emissions set forth in the GHG Tailoring Rule, or at other 
appropriate levels. As a result, EPA has determined that the Florida 
SIP does not satisfy a portion of prong 3 of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) 
for the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 infrastructure requirements. 
Therefore, EPA is disapproving FDEP's submission for prong 3 of section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i) as it relates relate to GHG PSD permitting 
requirements. EPA's disapproval of this element does not result in any 
further obligation on the part of Florida, because EPA has already 
promulgated a FIP for the Florida PSD program to address permitting GHG 
at or above the GHG Tailoring Rule thresholds. See 76 FR 25178. Thus, 
today's final action to approve in part, and disapprove in part, FDEP's 
submission for prong 3 of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i), will not require any 
further action by either FDEP or EPA.
    EPA received one comment on its December 5, 2012, proposed 
rulemaking. The Commenter wanted ``to congratulate EPA workers for 
trying to decrease particles and increase the public's health.'' This 
comment does not appear to be related to the issues presented in the 
proposed rulemaking, and instead, appears related to a wholly separate 
topic--promulgation of the PM NAAQS. EPA does not interpret this 
comment as relevant to the topic of EPA's December 5, 2012, proposed 
action. Instead, EPA interprets this comment as being off-topic and 
outside of the scope of today's final rulemaking.

III. Final Action

    As described above, EPA is approving in part, and disapproving in 
part, the SIP submission from Florida to incorporate provisions into 
the State's implementation plan to address prong 3 of section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i) of the CAA for both the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS. Specifically, EPA is approving the State's 
prong 3 of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) submissions as they relate to the 
``Phase II Rule,'' the ``NSR PM2.5 Rule,'' and the 
``PM2.5 PSD Increment-SILs-SMC Rule (only as it relates to 
PM2.5 increments)'' because they are consistent with section 
110 of the CAA. EPA also is disapproving Florida's submissions for the 
portion of the section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) prong 3 requirements related to 
the regulation of GHG emissions for both the 1997 annual and 2006 24-
hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
    EPA notes that on September 19, 2012, the Agency approved the 
Significant Monitoring Concentration (SMC) portion of the 
PM2.5 PSD Increment-SILs-SMC Rule into the SIPs for Florida. 
See 77 FR 58027. Since that time, on January 22, 2013, the U.S. Court 
of Appeals for the District of Columbia, in Sierra Club v. EPA, No. 10-
1413, 2013 WL 216018 (Jan. 22, 2013), issued a judgment that, inter 
alia, vacated the provisions adding the PM2.5 SMC to the 
federal regulations, at 40 CFR 51.166(i)(5)(i)(c) and 
52.21(i)(5)(i)(c), that were promulgated as part of the 2010 
PM2.5 PSD Increment-SILs-SMC Rule. In its decision, the 
court held that EPA did not have the authority to use SMCs to exempt 
permit applicants from the statutory requirement in section 165(e)(2) 
of the CAA that ambient monitoring data for PM2.5 be 
included in all PSD permit applications. Thus,

[[Page 20000]]

although the PM2.5 SMC was not a required element of a 
State's PSD program and thus not a structural requirement for purposes 
of infrastructure SIPs, were a SIP-approved PSD program that contains 
such a provision to use that provision to issue new permits without 
requiring ambient PM2.5 monitoring data, such application of 
the SIP would be inconsistent with the court's opinion and the 
requirements of section 165(e)(2) of the CAA.
    Given the clarity of the court's decision, it would now be 
inappropriate for Florida to continue to allow applicants for any 
pending or future PSD permits to rely on the PM2.5 SMC in 
order to avoid compiling ambient monitoring data for PM2.5. 
Because of the vacatur of EPA regulations, the SMC provisions, included 
in Florida's SIP-approved PSD programs on the basis of EPA's 
regulations are unlawful and no longer enforceable by law. Permits 
issued on the basis of these provisions as they appear in the approved 
SIP would be inconsistent with the CAA and difficult to defend in 
administrative and judicial challenges. Thus, the SIP provisions may 
not be applied even prior to their removal from the SIP. Florida should 
instead require applicants requesting a PSD permit, including those 
having already been applied for but for which the permit has not yet 
been received, to submit ambient PM2.5 monitoring data in 
accordance with the CAA requirements whenever either direct 
PM2.5 or any PM2.5 precursor is emitted in a 
significant amount.\3\ As the previously-approved PM2.5 SMC 
provisions in the Florida SIP are no longer enforceable, EPA does not 
believe the existence of the provisions in the State's implementation 
plan precludes today's approval of the infrastructure SIP submissions 
as they relate to prong 3 of the 1997 annual and 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS.
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    \3\ In lieu of the applicants' need to set out PM2.5 
monitors to collect ambient data, applicants may submit 
PM2.5 ambient data collected from existing monitoring 
networks when the permitting authority deems such data to be 
representative of the air quality in the area of concern for the 
year preceding receipt of the application. EPA believes that 
applicants will generally be able to rely on existing representative 
monitoring data to satisfy the monitoring data requirement.
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    EPA intends to initiate a rulemaking to correct SIPs that were 
approved with regard to the PM2.5 SMC prior to the court's 
decision. EPA also advises Florida to begin preparations to remove the 
PM2.5 provisions from its state PSD regulations and SIP. 
However, EPA has not yet set a deadline requiring states to take action 
to revise their existing PSD programs to address the court's decision.
    EPA notes that on January 4, 2013, the U.S. Court of Appeals, in 
Natural Resources Defense Council v. EPA, No. 08-1250, 2013 WL 45653 
(D.C. Cir., filed July 15, 2008) (consolidated with 09-1102, 11-1430), 
issued a judgment that remanded EPA's 2007 and 2008 rules implementing 
the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS. The court ordered EPA to 
``repromulgate these rules pursuant to Subpart 4 consistent with this 
opinion.'' Id. at *8. Subpart 4 of Part D, Title 1 of the CAA 
establishes additional provisions for particulate matter nonattainment 
areas.
    The 2008 implementation rule addressed by the court decision, 
``Implementation of New Source Review (NSR) Program for Particulate 
Matter Less Than 2.5 Micrometers (PM2.5),'' 73 FR 28321 (May 
16, 2008), promulgated NSR requirements for implementation of 
PM2.5 in both nonattainment areas (nonattainment NSR) and 
attainment/unclassifiable areas (PSD). As the requirements of Subpart 4 
only pertain to nonattainment areas, EPA does not consider the portions 
of the 2008 rule that address requirements for PM2.5 
attainment and unclassifiable areas to be affected by the court's 
opinion. Moreover, EPA does not anticipate the need to revise any PSD 
requirements promulgated in the 2008 rule in order to comply with the 
court's decision. Accordingly, EPA's actions for the Florida 
infrastructure SIPs as related to element (D)(i)(II) with respect to 
the PSD requirements promulgated by the 2008 implementation rule does 
not conflict with the court's opinion.
    The court's decision with respect to the nonattainment NSR 
requirements promulgated by the 2008 implementation rule also does not 
affect EPA's action on the present infrastructure action. EPA 
interprets the Act to exclude nonattainment area requirements, 
including requirements associated with a nonattainment NSR program, 
from infrastructure SIP submissions due 3 years after adoption or 
revision of a NAAQS. Instead, these elements are typically referred to 
as nonattainment SIP or attainment plan elements, which would be due by 
the dates statutorily prescribed under subpart 2 through 5 under part 
D, extending as far as 10 years following designations for some 
elements.

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 approves state law as meeting federal requirements and 
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state 
law. For that reason, this 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 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).

In addition, this rule 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, and EPA notes that it 
will not impose substantial direct costs on tribal governments or 
preempt tribal law.
    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

[[Page 20001]]

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 
action 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 June 3, 2013. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this action 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 in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen dioxide, Particulate 
Matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic 
compounds.

    Dated: March 26, 2013.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--[AMENDED]

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart K--Florida

0
2. Section 52.520(e) is amended by adding two new entries for 
``110(a)(1) and (2) Infrastructure Requirements for the 1997 Fine 
Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards'' and 
``110(a)(1) and (2) Infrastructure Requirements for the 2006 Fine 
Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality Standards'' at the end 
of the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.520  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                 EPA-Approved Florida Non-Regulatory Provisions
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                                         State       EPA approval      Federal Register
             Provision              effective date       date               notice              Explanation
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
110(a)(1) and (2) Infrastructure         4/18/2008        4/3/2013  [Insert citation of    EPA disapproved the
 Requirements for 1997 Fine                                          publication].          State's prong 3 of
 Particulate Matter National                                                                section
 Ambient Air Quality Standards.                                                             110(a)(2)(D)(i) as
                                                                                            it relates to GHG
                                                                                            PSD permitting
                                                                                            requirements.
110(a)(1) and (2) Infrastructure         9/23/2009        4/3/2013  [Insert citation of    EPA disapproved the
 Requirements for 2006 Fine                                          publication].          State's prong 3 of
 Particulate Matter National                                                                section
 Ambient Air Quality Standards.                                                             110(a)(2)(D)(i) as
                                                                                            it relates to GHG
                                                                                            PSD permitting
                                                                                            requirements.
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[FR Doc. 2013-07654 Filed 4-2-13; 8:45 am]
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