[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 127 (Tuesday, July 2, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 39650-39651]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-15893]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2013-0299; FRL-9829-4]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
West Virginia; Section 110(a)(2) Infrastructure Requirements for the 
2008 Ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: EPA is approving State Implementation Plan (SIP) submittals 
from the State of West Virginia pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA). 
Whenever new or revised national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) 
are promulgated, the CAA requires states to submit a plan for the 
implementation, maintenance, and enforcement of such NAAQS. The plan is 
required to address basic program elements, including, but not limited 
to regulatory structure, monitoring, modeling, legal authority, and 
adequate resources necessary to assure attainment and maintenance of 
the standards. These elements are referred to as infrastructure 
requirements. West Virginia has made submittals addressing the 
infrastructure requirements for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This 
action approves portions of those submittals.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before August 1, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID EPA-R03-OAR-
2013-0299 by one of the following methods:
    A. www.regulations.gov. Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    B. Email: [email protected].
    C. Mail: EPA-R03-OAR-2013-0299, Cristina Fernandez, Associate 
Director, Office of Air Program Planning, Air Protection Division, 
Mailcode 3AP30, 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-
2013-0299. 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 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 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, 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 
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 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 West Virginia Department of Environmental 
Protection, Division of Air Quality, 601 57th Street SE., Charleston, 
West Virginia 25304.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Ellen Schmitt, (215) 814-5787, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On February 17, 2012, the West Virginia 
Department of Environmental Protection (WVDEP) submitted a revision to 
its SIP to satisfy the requirements of section 110(a)(2) of the CAA for 
the 2008 ozone NAAQS.

I. Background

    On March 27, 2008, EPA promulgated a revised NAAQS for ozone based 
on 8-hour average concentrations. EPA revised the level of the 8-hour 
ozone NAAQS to 0.075 parts per million (ppm). Pursuant to section 
110(a)(1) of the CAA, states are required to submit SIPs meeting the 
applicable requirements of section 110(a)(2) within three years after 
promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS or within such shorter period as 
EPA may prescribe. Section 110(a)(2) requires states to address basic 
SIP elements such as requirements for monitoring, basic program 
requirements and legal authority that are designed to assure attainment 
and maintenance of the NAAQS. 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. In particular, 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 content of 
such SIP submissions may also vary depending upon what provisions the 
state's existing SIP already contains.
    In the case of the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS, states typically have 
met the basic program elements required in section 110(a)(2) through 
earlier SIP submissions in connection with the 1997 8-hour ozone 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 mentioned above, these 
requirements include basic SIP elements such as requirements for 
monitoring, basic program requirements and legal authority that are 
designed to assure attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS.

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    On February 17, 2012, the WVDEP provided a submittal to satisfy the 
requirements of section 110(a)(2) of the CAA for the 2008 ozone NAAQS. 
This submittal addressed the following infrastructure elements or 
portions thereof, which EPA is proposing to approve: CAA section 
110(a)(2)(A), (B), (C), (D), (E), (F), (G), (H), (J), (K), (L), and 
(M). A detailed summary of EPA's

[[Page 39651]]

review and rationale for approving West Virginia's submittal may be 
found in the Technical Support Document (TSD) for this proposed 
rulemaking action, which is available online at www.regulations.gov, 
Docket number EPA-R03-OAR-2013-0299.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve the following elements or portions 
thereof of West Virginia's February 17, 2012 SIP revision: (A), (B), 
(C), (D)(i)(II), (D)(ii), (E)(i), (E)(iii), (F), (G), (H), (J), (K), 
(L), and (M). West Virginia's SIP revision provides the basic program 
elements specified in CAA section 110(a)(2) necessary to implement, 
maintain, and enforce the 2008 ozone NAAQS. This action does not 
include any proposed action on section 110(a)(2)(I) of the CAA which 
pertains to the nonattainment requirements of part D, Title I of the 
CAA, because this element is not required to be submitted by the 3-year 
submission deadline of CAA section 110(a)(1), and will be addressed in 
a separate process. This action also does not include proposed action 
on section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) of the CAA, because this element, or 
portions thereof, is not required to be submitted by a state to meet 
CAA section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) until the EPA has quantified a state's 
obligations under that section. See EME Homer City Generation, LP v. 
EPA, 696 F.3d 7 (DC Cir. 2012), reh'g denied 2013 U.S. App. LEXIS 1623 
(Jan. 24, 2013).
    Additionally, EPA has taken separate action on the portions of CAA 
section 110(a)(2) infrastructure elements for the 2008 ozone NAAQS as 
they relate to West Virginia's PSD program, as required by part C of 
Title I of the CAA. This includes portions of the following 
infrastructure elements: CAA section 110(a)(2)(C), (D)(i)(II), and (J). 
See (77 FR 63736, October 17, 2012) and (78 FR 27062, May 9, 2013). EPA 
will take later separate action on CAA section 110(a)(2)(E)(ii) for the 
2008 ozone NAAQS as it relates to CAA section 128, ``State Boards.''
    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 CAA 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 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 proposed rule, which satisfies the infrastructure 
requirements of section 110(a)(2) of the CAA for the 2008 ozone NAAQS, 
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 EPA notes that it 
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, Incorporation by 
reference, Ozone, Volatile organic compounds, Nitrogen dioxide, Record 
keeping.

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

    Dated: June 13, 2013.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2013-15893 Filed 7-1-13; 8:45 am]
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