[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 67 (Monday, April 8, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 20855-20856]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-08118]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0322; FRL-9799-7]
RIN 2060-AR68


State Implementation Plans: Response to Petition for Rulemaking; 
Findings of Substantial Inadequacy; and SIP Calls To Amend Provisions 
Applying to Excess Emissions During Periods of Startup, Shutdown, and 
Malfunction

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of extension of public comment period.

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SUMMARY: The EPA is announcing an extension of the public comment 
period for its proposal titled, ``State Implementation Plans: Response 
to Petition for Rulemaking; Findings of Substantial Inadequacy; and SIP 
Calls to Amend Provisions Applying to Excess Emissions During Periods 
of Startup, Shutdown, and Malfunction.'' The EPA has received numerous 
requests for extension of the comment period beyond the current 
deadline of April 11, 2013, and one request that it not extend the 
comment period by an additional 60 to 90 days, and in response to those 
requests the EPA is extending the comment period by an additional 30 
days.

DATES: Comments on the proposed rule published February 22, 2013 (78 FR 
12460) must be received on or before May 13, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-
OAR-2012-0322, by one of the following methods:
     http://www.regulations.gov: Follow the online instructions 
for submitting comments.
     Email: [email protected].
     Fax: (202) 566-9744.
     Mail: Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0322, U.S. 
Environmental Protection Agency, EPA West (Air Docket), 1200 
Pennsylvania Avenue NW., Mail Code: 6102T, Washington, DC 20460. Please 
include a total of two copies.
     Hand Delivery: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, EPA 
West (Air Docket), 1301 Constitution Avenue, Northwest, Room 3334, 
Washington, DC 20004, Attention Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0322. 
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-HQ-OAR-
2012-0322. 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 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 email. The www.regulations.gov Web site is an ``anonymous access'' 
system, which means the EPA will not know your identity or contact 
information unless you provide it in the body of your comment. If you 
send an email comment directly to the EPA without going through 
www.regulations.gov, your email 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, the EPA recommends that you include your name and other 
contact information in the body of your comment and with any CD you 
submit. If the EPA cannot read your comment due to technical 
difficulties and cannot contact you for clarification, the EPA may not 
be able to consider your comment. Electronic files should avoid the use 
of special characters, avoid any form of encryption, and be free of any 
defects or viruses. For additional information about the EPA's public 
docket visit the EPA Docket Center homepage at www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm. For additional instructions on submitting comments, go to 
section I.A of the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section of this document.
    Docket. All documents in the docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., Confidential Business 
Information (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. Publicly available docket 
materials are available either electronically at www.regulations.gov or 
in hard copy at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Docket, 
EPA/DC, EPA West Building, Room 3334, 1301 Constitution Ave. 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

[[Page 20856]]

(202) 566-1744, and the telephone number for the Air Docket is (202) 
566-1742.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions concerning this action 
should be addressed to Ms. Lisa Sutton, U.S. EPA, Office of Air Quality 
Planning and Standards, State and Local Programs Group, (C539-01), 
Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, telephone number (919) 541-3450, 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. General Information

A. What should I consider as I prepare my comments?

1. Submitting CBI. Do not submit this information to the EPA through 
www.regulations.gov or email. Clearly mark the part or all of the 
information that you claim to be CBI. For CBI information in CD that 
you mail to the EPA, mark the outside of the CD as CBI and then 
identify electronically within the CD 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, OAQPS Document Control Officer (C404-02), 
U.S. EPA, Research Triangle Park, NC 27711, Attention Docket ID No. 
EPA-HQ-OAR-2012-0322.
    2. Tips for preparing your comments. When submitting comments, 
remember to:
     Identify the rulemaking by 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 Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) part or section number.
     Explain why you agree or disagree; suggest alternatives 
and substitute language for your requested changes.
     Describe any assumptions and provide any technical 
information and/or data that you used.
     If you estimate potential costs or burdens, explain how 
you arrived at your estimate in sufficient detail to allow for it to be 
reproduced.
     Provide specific examples to illustrate your concerns, and 
suggest alternatives.
     Explain your views as clearly as possible, avoiding the 
use of profanity or personal threats.

Make sure to submit your comments by the comment period deadline 
identified.

B. Where can I get a copy of this document and other related 
information?

    In addition to being available in the docket, an electronic copy of 
this notice will also be available on the World Wide Web. Following 
signature, a copy of this notice will be posted on the EPA's Web site, 
under SSM SIP Call 2013, at www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/sipstatus. In 
addition to this notice, other relevant documents are located in the 
docket, including the proposal notice and comments received on the 
proposed rulemaking so far, including requests for extension of the 
comment period.

II. Background

    The purpose of this notice is to extend the public comment period 
on the EPA's recently proposed rulemaking titled, ``State 
Implementation Plans: Response to Petition for Rulemaking; Findings of 
Substantial Inadequacy; and SIP Calls to Amend Provisions Applying to 
Excess Emissions During Periods of Startup, Shutdown, and 
Malfunction.'' The proposal was published in the Federal Register on 
February 22, 2013, with an original deadline of March 25, 2013, for 
receipt of comments. However, as provided in the proposal, because a 
public hearing on the proposal was requested and this hearing was held 
on March 12, 2013, the deadline for receipt of comments was 
automatically extended to 30 days after the date of the public hearing. 
Accordingly, the public comment period for the proposal has already 
been extended to April 11, 2013.
    The EPA has received numerous requests to extend the end date of 
the comment period for the proposed rulemaking beyond April 11, 2013. 
Those requesting additional time include industry, industry trade 
associations, and state and local air pollution agencies in potentially 
affected states. These requestors claim that because the proposal is 
complex and far-reaching, with unique state-specific issues, they need 
extra time during which to review existing SIP provisions in light of 
the proposed actions and to provide meaningful and comprehensive 
comments on all aspects of the proposal.
    The EPA has also received, to date, one request that it not extend 
the comment period for the proposed rulemaking. This request was from 
the environmental group that submitted the petition at issue to the 
EPA. This requestor opposes requests to extend the comment period by an 
additional 60 to 90 days, given the seriousness of public health issues 
at stake and the already extended period of time it will take to 
address any necessary SIP revisions as a result of the proposed 
rulemaking, and because the justifications offered for extension of the 
comment period are not relevant to the specific issues in the 
rulemaking.
    The EPA has carefully evaluated these competing requests regarding 
the length of the public comment period for the proposed rulemaking. In 
response to these requests, the EPA by this notice is extending the 
comment period for an additional 30 days, that is, until May 13, 2013. 
Accordingly, the EPA notes, commenters thus have a comment period of 80 
days from the date the proposed rulemaking was published in the Federal 
Register and 89 days from the date the proposed rulemaking was posted 
on the EPA's Web site. The EPA believes that this length of comment 
period is reasonable and appropriate, considering the issues addressed 
in the proposed rulemaking.

    Dated: April 2, 2013.
Mary E. Henigin,
Acting Director, Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.
[FR Doc. 2013-08118 Filed 4-5-13; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P