[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 7410-7412]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-02701]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R05-OAR-2009-0805; FRL-9906-32-Region 5]


Approval of Air Quality Implementation Plans; Indiana; Ohio; 
``Infrastructure'' SIP State Board Requirements for the 2006 24-Hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: Under the Clean Air Act (CAA), the Environmental Protection 
Agency (EPA) is proposing to approve elements of state implementation 
plan (SIP) submissions by the Indiana Department of Environmental

[[Page 7411]]

Management (IDEM) and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency (Ohio 
EPA) to address the section 110 requirements of the CAA for the 2006 
24-hour fine particle national ambient air quality standards (2006 
PM2.5 NAAQS). The SIPs under section 110 of the CAA are 
often referred to as the ``infrastructure'' SIP, and specifically we 
are proposing approval of portions of these states' submissions 
intended to meet the state board requirements of section 110. This 
section requires states to comply with the applicable state board 
requirements found in section 128 of the CAA.

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 10, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R05-
OAR-2009-0805, by one of the following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. Email: [email protected].
    3. Fax: (312) 408-2279.
    4. Mail: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Attainment Planning and 
Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604.
    5. Hand Delivery: Douglas Aburano, Chief, Attainment Planning and 
Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-18J), U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 77 West Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. 
Such deliveries are only accepted during the Regional Office normal 
hours of operation, and special arrangements should be made for 
deliveries of boxed information. The Regional Office official hours of 
business are Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., excluding 
Federal holidays.
    Instructions: Direct your comments to Docket ID. EPA-R05-OAR-2009-
0805. 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 docket are listed in the 
www.regulations.gov index. Although listed in the index, some 
information is not publicly available, e.g., 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 
in www.regulations.gov or in hard copy at the U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West 
Jackson Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 
8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal 
holidays. We recommend that you telephone Andy Chang, Environmental 
Engineer, at (312) 886-0258 before visiting the Region 5 office.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Andy Chang, Environmental Engineer, 
Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-
18J), U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson 
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-0258, [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,'' 
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information 
section is arranged as follows:

I. What is the background for this action?
II. What is the result of EPA's review of the applicable state board 
requirements for Indiana and Ohio?
III. What action is EPA taking?
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. What is the background for this action?

    Under sections 110(a)(1) and (2) of the CAA, and implementing EPA 
policy, states are required to submit to EPA infrastructure SIPs to 
ensure that their SIPs provide for implementation, maintenance, and 
enforcement of the NAAQS, including the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS. 
These submissions must contain any revisions needed for meeting the 
applicable SIP requirements of section 110(a)(2), or certifications 
that their existing SIPs already met those requirements.
    EPA highlighted this statutory requirement in an October 2, 2007, 
guidance document entitled ``Guidance on SIP Elements Required Under 
Sections 110(a)(1) and (2) for the 1997 8-hour Ozone and 
PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards'' (2007 Memo). 
On September 25, 2009, EPA issued additional guidance pertaining to the 
2006 PM2.5 NAAQS entitled ``Guidance on SIP Elements 
Required Under Sections 110(a)(1) and (2) for the 2006 24-Hour Fine 
Particle (PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards 
(NAAQS)'' (2009 Memo).
    On October 29, 2012, EPA finalized its approval of the majority of 
the infrastructure SIP elements for Indiana and Ohio with respect to 
the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS (see 77 FR 65478). However, we took no 
action on the state board requirements of section 110(a)(2)(E)(ii); 
instead, we committed to address compliance with these requirements at 
a later time (see 77 FR 65478 at 75480). Today's proposed rulemaking 
and future final action are intended to fulfill that commitment.
    To assist states with addressing the state board requirements of 
section 110(a)(2)(E)(ii), EPA issued ``Guidance on infrastructure SIP 
Elements Required Under Sections 110(a)(1) and (2) for the 2008 Lead 
(Pb) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)'' (2011 Memo) and 
most recently, ``Guidance on Infrastructure SIP Elements under Clean 
Air Act Sections 110(a)(1) and 110(a)(2)'' (2013 Memo). Notably, the 
2013 Memo specifies that the state board requirements are not NAAQS 
specific, i.e., the requirements are identical for each NAAQS. Today's 
rulemaking describes how Indiana and Ohio have met the applicable state 
board requirements under section 110(a)(2)(E)(ii) for the 2006 
PM2.5 NAAQS; this rulemaking does not address any other 
NAAQS, nor does it extend to any other infrastructure SIP element of 
the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS.

II. What is the result of EPA's review of the applicable state board 
requirements for Indiana and Ohio?

    Integral to the infrastructure SIP requirements for IDEM and Ohio 
EPA with respect to the state board requirements for the 2006 
PM2.5 NAAQS was the need for these two states to show that 
they had met the applicable

[[Page 7412]]

requirements contained in section 128 of the CAA, and for the states to 
submit such provisions for incorporation into the SIP.
    Under section 128 of the CAA, each SIP must contain provisions that 
address two requirements: (i) That any board or body which approves 
permits or enforcement orders under this chapter shall have at least a 
majority of members who represent the public interest and do not derive 
any significant portion of their income from persons subject to permits 
and enforcement orders under this chapter, and (ii) that any potential 
conflicts of interest by members of such board or body or the head of 
an executive agency with similar powers be adequately disclosed. IDEM's 
and Ohio EPA's satisfaction of these requirements follow, below.
    On August 19, 2013, EPA proposed approval of IDEM's provisions 
intended to address the applicable requirements of section 128 (see 78 
FR 50360). No comments were received regarding our proposed approval of 
Indiana's state board provisions, and EPA's final approval of these 
provisions was published on December 24, 2013 (see 78 FR 77599). IDEM 
had previously requested in a May 22, 2013, SIP submission that EPA's 
approval of its state board provisions satisfy any applicable 
infrastructure SIP requirements for the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS. 
EPA therefore proposes that Indiana has met the section 
110(a)(2)(E)(ii) requirements for the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS.
    On June 7, 2013, Ohio submitted a SIP revision clarifying that the 
state does not have a board that has the authority to approve 
enforcement orders or permitting actions as outlined in section 
128(a)(1) of the CAA; instead, this authority rests with the Director 
of Ohio EPA. Therefore, section 128(a)(1) of the CAA is not applicable 
in Ohio.
    Under section 128(a)(2), the head of the executive agency with the 
power to approve enforcement orders or permits must adequately disclose 
any potential conflicts of interest. In its June 7, 2013, submission, 
Ohio EPA noted that EPA has previously approved provisions into Ohio's 
SIP addressing these requirements (see 46 FR 57490). Specifically, ORC 
102: Public Officers--Ethics contains provisions that require the 
Director of Ohio EPA (and his/her delegate) to file an annual statement 
with the ethics committee including potential conflicts of interest; 
furthermore, this annual filing is subject to public inspection. Ohio 
EPA requested in its June 7, 2013, submission that these SIP-approved 
provisions satisfy any applicable infrastructure SIP requirements for 
the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS. EPA therefore proposes that Ohio has 
met the applicable requirements for section 110(a)(2)(E)(ii) for the 
2006 PM2.5 NAAQS.

III. What action is EPA taking?

    For the reasons discussed above, EPA is proposing to approve 
submissions from IDEM and Ohio intended to address the state board 
requirements under section 110(a)(2)(E)(ii) for the 2006 
PM2.5 NAAQS. To reiterate, this action does not extend to 
any other NAAQS, nor does it extend to any other element under section 
110(a)(1) and (2) for the 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS.

VI. 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 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 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, Intergovernmental 
relations, Particulate Matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements.

    Dated: January 22, 2014.
Susan Hedman,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
[FR Doc. 2014-02701 Filed 2-6-14; 8:45 am]
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