[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 55 (Friday, March 21, 2014)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 15718-15720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-06225]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0814 & EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0692; FRL-9908-43-Region 4]


Approval and Promulgation of Implementation Plans; Florida; 
Infrastructure Requirement (Visibility) for the 1997 and 2006 PM, and 
2008 8-Hour Ozone NAAQS

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: On April 18, 2008, and September 23, 2009, the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) received state implementation plan (SIP) 
submissions from the State of Florida, through the Florida Department 
of Environmental Protection (FDEP), regarding the infrastructure 
elements for the 1997 annual Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5) 
National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) and 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS, respectively. On October 31, 2012, EPA received 
a SIP submission from FDEP regarding the infrastructure elements for 
the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Additionally, on October 22, 2013, FDEP 
supplemented the three aforementioned infrastructure SIP submissions. 
EPA is proposing to approve the elements of these infrastructure SIP 
submissions, as supplemented on October 22, 2013, as they relate to the 
protection of visibility in other states.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 21, 2014.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments related to the 1997 and 2006 
PM2.5 SIP submissions, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2012-0814, and related to the 2008 8-hour ozone SIP submission, 
identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0692, by one of the 
following methods:
    1. www.regulations.gov: Follow the on-line instructions for 
submitting comments.
    2. E-Mail: R4-RDS-epa.gov.
    3. Fax: (404) 562-9019.
    4. Mail: ``EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0814,'' for the 1997 and 2006 
PM2.5 SIP submissions or ``EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0692'' for the 
2008 8-hour ozone SIP submission, 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.
    5. Hand Delivery or Courier: Lynorae Benjamin, Chief, 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. Such deliveries are 
only accepted during the Regional Office's normal hours of operation. 
The Regional Office's 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 No. EPA-R04-OAR-
2012-0814 for the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 SIP submissions, or to 
Docket ID No. EPA-R04-OAR-2012-0692 for the 2008 8-hour ozone SIP 
submission. 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 through www.regulations.gov or 
email, information that you consider to be CBI or otherwise protected. 
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

[[Page 15719]]

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. For additional 
information about EPA's public docket visit the EPA Docket Center 
homepage at http://www.epa.gov/epahome/dockets.htm.
    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 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 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., 
excluding Federal holidays.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Sean Lakeman or Nacosta Ward, 
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. Mr. 
Lakeman can be reached via electronic mail at [email protected] or 
via telephone at (404) 562-9043. Ms. Ward can be reached via electronic 
mail at [email protected] or via telephone at (404) 562-9140.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On July 18, 1997 (62 FR 38652), EPA established an annual 
PM2.5 NAAQS of 15.0 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\), 
based on a 3-year average of annual mean PM2.5 
concentrations, and a 24-hour NAAQS of 65 [mu]g/m\3\. On October 17, 
2006 (71 FR 61144), EPA retained the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS 
at 15.0 [mu]g/m\3\ based on a 3-year average of annual mean 
PM2.5 concentrations and promulgated a new 24-hour NAAQS of 
35 [mu]g/m\3\ based on a 3-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-
hour concentrations. On March 27, 2008 (77 FR 16436), EPA revised the 
8-hour ozone NAAQS to 0.075 parts per million. By statute, SIPs meeting 
the requirements of sections 110(a)(1) and (2) are to be submitted by 
states within three years after promulgation of a new or revised NAAQS. 
Sections 110(a)(1) and (2) require states to address basic SIP 
requirements, including emissions inventories, monitoring, and modeling 
to assure attainment and maintenance of the NAAQS.
    EPA received Florida's infrastructure submissions on April 18, 
2008, for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS; on September 23, 
2009, for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS; and on October 31, 
2012, for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. The rulemaking proposed through 
today's action only addresses section 110(a)(2)(D)(i) visibility 
requirements. Florida supplemented its September 23, 2009, submission 
on April 18, 2011, to further address the required elements of sections 
110(a)(2)(D)(i) and 110(a)(2)(D)(ii), and it supplemented the April 18, 
2008, September 23, 2009, and October 31, 2012, submissions on October 
23, 2013, stating that Florida has met the section 110(a)(2)(D)(ii) 
visibility requirements for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS, 
2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, and 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
through EPA's approval of the State's regional haze SIP submission and 
incorporation of all relevant portions of Florida's visibility program 
into the State's implementation plan.

II. What are states required to address under Section 110(a)(2)(D)?

    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 
elements, commonly referred to as ``prongs,'' that must be addressed in 
infrastructure SIP submissions. The first two prongs, which are 
codified in section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I), 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 from 
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), prohibit emissions activity in one state from 
interfering with measures required to prevent significant deterioration 
of air quality in another state (``prong 3'') and to protect visibility 
in another state (``prong 4''). Section 110(a)(2)(D)(ii) requires SIPs 
to include provisions ensuring compliance with sections 115 and 126 of 
the Act relating to interstate and international pollution abatement.
    Today's proposed rulemaking pertains only to requirements related 
to prong 4 of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II), which as previously 
described, requires that the SIP contain adequate provisions to protect 
visibility in other states. EPA's rationale for today's proposal that 
Florida is meeting these prong 4 requirements for purposes of the 1997 
annual PM2.5 NAAQS, 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, and 
2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS is provided below.

III. What is EPA's analysis of how Florida addressed the Section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) Visibility Element?

    EPA has made the preliminary determination that Florida's 
infrastructure SIP submissions for the 1997 annual PM2.5 
NAAQS, 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, and 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS 
meet the requirements of prong 4 of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) because 
the Agency has approved Florida's regional haze SIP,\1\ and Florida has 
confirmed, through its October 22, 2013, supplement to its SIP 
submissions, that it has met the prong 4 requirements of section 
110(a)(2)(D)(ii) for these NAAQS through EPA's approval of the State's 
regional haze SIP submission and incorporation of all relevant portions 
of Florida's visibility program into the State's implementation plan. 
Federal regulations require that a state's regional haze SIP contain a 
long-term strategy to address regional haze visibility impairment in 
each Class I area within the state and each Class I area outside the 
state that may be affected by emissions from the state.\2\ A state 
participating in a regional planning process, such as Florida, must 
include all measures needed to achieve its apportionment of emissions 
reduction obligations agreed upon through that process.\3\ EPA's 
approval of Florida's regional haze SIP therefore ensures that 
emissions from Florida are not interfering with measures to protect 
visibility in other states, satisfying the requirements of prong 4 of 
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) for the 1997 and 2006

[[Page 15720]]

PM2.5 NAAQS and for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS.\4\
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    \1\ 77 FR 71111 (November 29, 2012); 78 FR 53250 (August 29, 
2013).
    \2\ 40 CFR 51.308(d).
    \3\ See, e.g., 40 CFR 51.308(d)(3)(ii). Florida participated in 
the Visibility Improvement State and Tribal Association of the 
Southeast (VISTAS) regional planning organization, a collaborative 
effort of state governments, tribal governments, and various Federal 
agencies established to initiate and coordinate activities 
associated with the management of regional haze, visibility, and 
other air quality issues in the Southeastern United States. Member 
state and tribal governments included: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, 
Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, 
Virginia, West Virginia, and the Eastern Band of the Cherokee 
Indians.
    \4\ See EPA's September 13, 2013, guidance document entitled 
``Guidance on Infrastructure State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
Elements under Clean Air Act Sections 110(a)(1) and 110(a)(2)'' at 
pp. 32-35, available at: http:[sol][sol]www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/
sipstatus/infrastructure.html; see also memorandum from William T. 
Harnett, Director, Air Quality Policy Division, Office of Air 
Quality Planning and Standards, to Regional Air Division Directors, 
entitled ``Guidance on SIP Elements Required Under Sections 
110(1)(1) and (2) for the 2006 24-Hour Fine Particle 
(PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)'' 
(September 25, 2009) at pp. 5-6, available at: 
http:[sol][sol]www.epa.gov/ttn/caaa/t1/memoranda/ 20090925_
harnett_pm25_sip_110a12.pdf.
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IV. Proposed Action

    As described above, EPA is proposing to approve the infrastructure 
SIP submissions from FDEP as addressing prong 4 of section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) of the CAA for the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 
NAAQS and for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS. Specifically, EPA is 
proposing to approve FDEP's April 18, 2008, and September 23, 2009, 
submissions for the 1997 and 2006 PM2.5 NAAQS, and FDEP's 
October 31, 2011, submission for the 2008 8-hour ozone NAAQS, as 
supplemented on October 22, 2013, as they pertain to prong 4 of section 
110(a)(2)(D)(i)(II) because they are consistent with section 110 of the 
CAA.

V. 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. See 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 
proposed 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 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 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and 
recordkeeping requirements, Volatile organic compounds.

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

    Dated: March 10, 2014.
A. Stanley Meiburg,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
[FR Doc. 2014-06225 Filed 3-20-14; 8:45 am]
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