[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 60 (Monday, March 30, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16568-16571]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-07106]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2015-0636; FRL-9922-77-Region 3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Pennsylvania; Revision to Allegheny County Rules; Preconstruction 
Permit Requirements--Nonattainment; New Source Review

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Final rule.

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[[Page 16569]]

SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is granting full 
approval of a revision to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania State 
Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted on June 25, 2012 (June 2012 SIP 
submittal) by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection 
(PADEP) on behalf of the Allegheny County Health Department (ACHD) as 
amended by PADEP in letters dated February 20, 2013 and June 27, 2014. 
The SIP revision pertains to ACHD's Nonattainment New Source Review 
(NNSR) preconstruction permitting regulations which incorporate by 
reference Pennsylvania's NNSR provisions. This action is being taken 
under the Clean Air Act.

DATES: This rule is effective on April 29, 2015.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID 
Number EPA-R03-OAR-2015-0636. All documents in the docket are listed in 
the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the electronic 
docket, some information is not publicly available, i.e., confidential 
business information (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 through www.regulations.gov or in hard 
copy for public inspection during normal business hours at the Air 
Protection Division, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Region III, 
and 1650 Arch Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19103. Copies of the 
State submittal are available at the Pennsylvania Department of 
Environmental Protection, Bureau of Air Quality Control, P.O. Box 8468, 
400 Market Street, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17105; and Allegheny County 
Health Department, Bureau of Environmental Quality, Division of Air 
Quality, 301 39th Street, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15201.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul Wentworth, (215) 814-2183, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background and Summary of SIP Revision

    On December 17, 2014 (79 FR 75104), EPA published a notice of 
proposed rulemaking (NPR) for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The NPR 
proposed full approval of the June 2012 SIP submittal which included 
revisions to the ACHD's NNSR program contained in the Pennsylvania SIP. 
The revisions to ACHD's NNSR program include ACHD's Article XXI which 
incorporates by reference Pennsylvania's NNSR provisions at 25 Pa. Code 
127.201-127.217. The June 2012 SIP submittal also includes other 
changes to ACHD's NNSR program including changes to regulatory 
definitions and text, deletions of certain provisions, reordered 
paragraphs, and inclusion of plantwide applicability limit 
requirements.
    ACHD amended the ACHD NNSR regulations at Article XXI, sections 
2101 and 2102, to meet the requirements of 40 CFR 51.165. This approval 
action replaces the previous version of Article XXI which was approved 
into the Pennsylvania SIP on November 14, 2002. See 67 FR 68935.
    The June 2012 SIP submittal includes amendments to the following 
sections of ACHD's Rules and Regulations, Article XXI: section 2101.20 
(Definitions); section 2102.04 (Installation permits); section 2102.06 
(Major Sources Locating in or Impacting a Nonattainment Area); and 
section 2102.08 (Emissions Offset Registration). After the June 2012 
SIP submittal, PADEP had provided two letters clarifying the June 2012 
SIP submittal. In a letter dated February 20, 2013, PADEP stated it had 
inadvertently redacted via strike out certain regulatory text from one 
provision in an ACHD regulation submitted for SIP approval in the June 
2012 SIP submittal. PADEP accidentally deleted language at the end of 
subsection (f) of ACHD's Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, section 
2102.06(f) (Requirements for Modeling). The February 20, 2013 PADEP 
letter requested EPA to include the full text of Article XXI, section 
2102.06(f) for the revised Pennsylvania SIP including the text 
inadvertently deleted in the June 2012 SIP submission.\1\
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    \1\ For the Pennsylvania SIP, ACHD's Article XXI, section 
2102.06(f) (Requirements for Modeling) should read as follows: 
``Where air quality models are used to meet the provisions of this 
section, modeling shall be based on the applicable models and other 
requirements specified in 40 CFR part 51 Appendix W (Guideline on 
Air Quality Models). Where an air quality model is inappropriate, 
the model may be modified or another model may be substituted only 
on a case-by-case basis at the Department's discretion upon written 
approval by the administrator of EPA. In addition, use of a modified 
or substituted model must be subject to notice and opportunity for 
public comment under procedures set forth in 40 CFR 51.102.''
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    In a second letter from PADEP dated June 27, 2014, PADEP modified 
the June 2012 SIP submittal and withdrew from its SIP submittal 
specific language from an ACHD regulation included in the June 2012 SIP 
submittal. The regulatory text PADEP withdrew from our consideration 
for inclusion in the Pennsylvania SIP was regulatory text in ACHD's 
Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, section 2102.06(b)(1), (b)(3)(a), 
(e), and (g) which provided a process for automatically incorporating 
additions, revisions, or deletions from Pennsylvania's NNSR regulations 
into ACHD's SIP effective on the date of revision to Pennsylvania's 
NNSR regulations.\2\ See 79 FR 75104 (discussing withdrawn text 
language). As a result of PADEP's June 27, 2014 letter, the language 
withdrawn by Pennsylvania from the June 2012 SIP submittal is not part 
of this rulemaking action. However, as a result of PADEP's February 20, 
2013 letter, the inadvertently redacted language from ACHD's Rules and 
Regulations, Article XXI, section 2102.06(f) is part of this rulemaking 
language.
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    \2\ The language excluded from the Pennsylvania SIP from ACHD's 
Rules and Regulations, Article XXI, section 2102.06(b)(1), 
(b)(3)(a), (e), and (g) is the following language ``[a]dditions, 
revisions, or deletions to such regulations by the Commonwealth are 
incorporated in this Subsection and are effective on the date 
established by the state regulation, unless otherwise established by 
regulation under this Article.''
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    EPA's November 17, 2014 technical support document (TSD) explains 
in detail the revisions to the Pennsylvania SIP contained in the 
Commonwealth's June 2012 SIP submittal. The TSD is included in the 
docket for this rulemaking action and is available online at 
www.regulations.gov. The TSD also explains in detail the language 
withdrawn from ACHD's Article XXI, section 2102.06, includes EPA's 
analysis of the June 2012 SIP submittal, and provides support for the 
proposed and final actions on the submittal. Because ACHD incorporated 
by reference Pennsylvania's SIP approved NNSR regulations into ACHD's 
NNSR regulations, EPA stated in the NPR there was no need to re-
evaluate the same NNSR elements EPA had already approved for the 
Pennsylvania SIP on May 14, 2012. As discussed in the NPR and in the 
TSD, the June 2012 SIP submittal includes revisions to ACHD's NNSR 
program which are consistent with the CAA, with currently promulgated 
Federal NNSR regulations, and with NNSR regulations which EPA has 
previously approved into Pennsylvania's SIP.
    The NPR and TSD contain detailed discussions of the Pennsylvania 
SIP submission for Allegheny County and EPA's rationale for approving 
the June 2012 SIP submittal which addresses NNSR requirements in the 
CAA and its implementing regulations in 40 CFR 51.165 applicable as of 
the time of the June 2012 SIP submittal. Therefore, those discussions 
will not be restated

[[Page 16570]]

here. No comments were received on the NPR.

II. Final Action

    EPA is approving as a revision to the Pennsylvania SIP the 
Commonwealth's June 2012 SIP submittal, as amended by PADEP in letters 
dated February 20, 2013 and June 27, 2014, which includes ACHD's NNSR 
regulations at Article XXI, sections 2101 and 2102.

III. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rulemaking action, the EPA is finalizing regulatory text 
proposing to include in a final rule that includes incorporation by 
reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is 
finalizing the incorporation by reference of the ACHD regulations at 
Article XXI, sections 2101 and 2102 regarding Nonattainment New Source 
Review permitting requirements for Allegheny County. The EPA has made 
and will continue to make, these documents generally available through 
www.regulations.gov and/or in hard copy at the appropriate EPA office 
(see the ADDRESSES section of this preamble for more information).

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    Under the CAA, the Administrator is required to approve a SIP 
submission thaIt 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.

B. Submission to Congress and the Comptroller General

    The Congressional Review Act, 5 U.S.C. 801 et seq., as added by the 
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, generally 
provides that before a rule may take effect, the agency promulgating 
the rule must submit a rule report, which includes a copy of the rule, 
to each House of the Congress and to the Comptroller General of the 
United States. EPA will submit a report containing this rule and other 
required information to the U.S. Senate, the U.S. House of 
Representatives, and the Comptroller General of the United States prior 
to publication of the rule in the Federal Register. This rule is not a 
``major rule'' as defined by 5 U.S.C. 804(2).

C. Petitions for Judicial Review

    Under section 307(b)(1) of the Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by May 29, 2015. Filing a 
petition for reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule 
does not affect the finality of this rule for the purposes of judicial 
review nor does it extend the time within which a petition for judicial 
review may be filed, and shall not postpone the effectiveness of such 
rule or action. This action may not be challenged later in proceedings 
to enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2).) This final rule 
approves Allegheny County's nonattainment new source review (NNSR) 
preconstruction air quality permit program.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: March 13, 2015.
William C. Early,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region III.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

0
1. The authority citation for part 52 continues to read as follows:

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

Subpart NN--Pennsylvania

0
2. In Sec.  52.2020, the table in paragraph (c)(2) is amended by:
0
a. Under Part A, revising the 7th entry for ``2101.20''; and
0
b. Under Part B, revising the entries for ``2102.04'', ``2102.06'', 
``2102.08.''


Sec.  52.2020  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *
    (2) * * *

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                                                          State                          Additional explanation/
   Article XX or XXI citation       Title/subject    effective date   EPA approval date  Sec.   52.2063 citation
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                                                 Part A--General
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[[Page 16571]]

 
                                                  * * * * * * *
2101.20........................  Definitions.......        4/3/2012  3/30/2015 [Insert   Revise the latest entry
                                                                      Federal Register    dated 11/26/14, 79 FR
                                                                      citation].          70471 by revising the
                                                                                          existing definition of
                                                                                          ``Major Source'' and
                                                                                          ``Major
                                                                                          Modification''.
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                            Part B--Permits Generally
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
2102.04........................  Permits Generally.        4/3/2012  3/30/2015 [Insert
                                                                      Federal Register
                                                                      citation].
 
                                                   * * * * * *
2102.06........................  Major Sources             4/3/2012  3/30/2015 [Insert   As per request by PADEP
                                  Locating in or                      Federal Register    in a letter to EPA
                                  Impacting a                         citation].          dated June 27, 2014,
                                  Nonattainment                                           the following language
                                  Area.                                                   appearing at paragraph
                                                                                          b.1; subparagraph
                                                                                          b.3.A; and Subsections
                                                                                          e and g, is excluded
                                                                                          from the SIP:
                                                                                          ``Additions,
                                                                                          revisions, or
                                                                                          deletions to such
                                                                                          regulations by the
                                                                                          Commonwealth are
                                                                                          incorporated in this
                                                                                          Subsection and are
                                                                                          effective on the date
                                                                                          established by the
                                                                                          state regulation,
                                                                                          unless otherwise
                                                                                          established by
                                                                                          regulation under this
                                                                                          Article.''
                                                                                         As per letter from
                                                                                          PADEP dated 2/20/2013,
                                                                                          the June 25, 2012 SIP
                                                                                          submission
                                                                                          inadvertently deleted
                                                                                          language from the end
                                                                                          of subsection (f) of
                                                                                          the regulation
                                                                                          submitted with SIP
                                                                                          submittal. The SIP
                                                                                          revision incorporating
                                                                                          Article XXI Sec.
                                                                                          2102.06(f) should read
                                                                                          as follows ``f.
                                                                                          Requirements for
                                                                                          Modeling. Where air
                                                                                          quality models are
                                                                                          used to meet the
                                                                                          provisions of this
                                                                                          section, modeling
                                                                                          shall be based on the
                                                                                          applicable models and
                                                                                          other requirements
                                                                                          specified in 40 CFR
                                                                                          Part 51 Appendix W
                                                                                          (Guideline on Air
                                                                                          Quality Models). Where
                                                                                          an air quality model
                                                                                          is inappropriate, the
                                                                                          model may be modified
                                                                                          or another model may
                                                                                          be substituted only on
                                                                                          a case-by-case basis
                                                                                          at the Department's
                                                                                          discretion upon
                                                                                          written approval by
                                                                                          the administrator of
                                                                                          EPA. In addition, use
                                                                                          of a modified or
                                                                                          substituted model must
                                                                                          be subject to notice
                                                                                          and opportunity for
                                                                                          public comment under
                                                                                          procedures set forth
                                                                                          in 40 CFR 51.102.''
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
2102.08........................  Emission Offset           4/3/2012  3/30/2015 [Insert
                                  Registration.                       Federal Register
                                                                      citation].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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[FR Doc. 2015-07106 Filed 3-27-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P