[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 169 (Friday, August 30, 2013)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 53709-53711]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-21270]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2013-0408; FRL-9900-57-Region 3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Delaware; 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 proposing to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
submittal from the State of Delaware 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. Delaware has made a submittal addressing 
the infrastructure requirements for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This 
action proposes to approve portions of this submittal.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before September 30, 
2013.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2013-0408 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-2013-0408, Cristina Fernandez, Associate 
Director, Office of Air Program Planning, 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-
2013-0408. 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

[[Page 53710]]

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 Delaware Department of Natural Resources and 
Environmental Control, 89 Kings Highway, P.O. Box 1401, Dover, Delaware 
19903.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rose Quinto, (215) 814-2182, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On March 27, 2013, the Delaware Department 
of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) submitted a 
revision to its SIP to satisfy the requirements of section 110(a)(2) of 
the CAA for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS.

I. Background

    On March 27, 2008 (73 FR 16436), EPA promulgated a revised NAAQS 
for ozone based on 8-hour average concentrations. EPA revised the level 
of the 8-hour ozone NAAQS from 0.08 parts per million (ppm) to 0.075 
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 submission 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 State Submittal

    On March 27, 2013, Delaware provided a submittal to satisfy section 
110(a)(2) of the CAA requirements, that is the subject of this proposed 
rulemaking, for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. This submittal addressed 
the following infrastructure elements: Section 110(a)(2)(A), (B), (C), 
(D), (E), (F), (G), (H), (J), (K), (L), and (M).
    EPA has analyzed the above identified submission and is proposing 
to make a determination that such submittal meets the requirements of 
section 110(a)(2)(A), (B), (C), (D)(i)(II), (D)(ii), (E), (F), (G), 
(H), (J), (K), (L), and (M) of the CAA, with the exception of the Part 
D, Title I nonattainment planning requirements of section 110(a)(2)(I), 
and the portion of the submittal relating to section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) 
on which EPA will take separate actions. A detailed summary of EPA's 
review and rationale for approving Delaware's submittal may be found in 
the Technical Support Document (TSD) for this action which is available 
on line at www.regulations.gov, Docket number EPA-R03-OAR-2013-0408.
    This proposed rulemaking action does not include 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 section 
110(a)(1) of the CAA, and will be addressed in a separate process. This 
proposed rulemaking action also does not address section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) of the CAA. In accordance with the decision of the 
U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (D.C. Circuit 
Court), EPA at this time is not treating the 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) SIP 
submission from Delaware as a required SIP submission. See EME Homer 
City Generation, L.P. v. EPA, 696 F .3d 7 (D.C. Cir. 2012), cert. 
granted, 2013 U.S. Lexis 4801 (2013). On June 24, 2013, the Supreme 
Court granted the petitions of the United States and others and agreed 
to review this D.C. Circuit Court decision. However, at this time the 
D.C. Circuit Court decision remains in place and unless it is reversed 
or otherwise modified by the Supreme Court, states are not required to 
submit 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) SIPs until EPA has quantified their 
obligations under that section. EPA will address the portion of 
Delaware's March 27, 2013 SIP submittal addressing section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) in a separate action.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA is proposing to approve Delaware's submittal that provides the 
basic program elements specified in section 110(a)(2)(A), (B), (C), 
(D)(i)(II), (D)(ii), (E), (F), (G), (H), (J), (K), (L), and (M), 
necessary to implement, maintain, and enforce the 2008 8-hour ozone 
NAAQS, with the exception of the Part D, Title I nonattainment planning 
requirements of section 110(a)(2)(I), and the portion of the submittal 
relating to section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) on which EPA will take separate 
actions. 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.);

[[Page 53711]]

     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 rulemaking action pertaining to 
Delaware's section 110(a)(2) infrastructure requirements for the 2008 
8-hour 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, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

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

    Dated: August 20, 2013.
W.C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2013-21270 Filed 8-29-13; 8:45 am]
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