[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 82 (Wednesday, April 29, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 23756-23757]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-10008]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2015-0225; FRL-9927-04-Region 3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
Maryland; Minor New Source Review Requirements

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing to 
approve a January 24, 2013 State Implementation Plan (SIP) revision 
submitted for the State of Maryland by the Maryland Department of the 
Environment (MDE). This revision pertains to preconstruction permitting 
requirements under Maryland's minor New Source Review (NSR) program. 
This action is being taken under the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before May 29, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2015-0225 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-2015-0225, David Campbell, Associate Director, 
Office of Permits and Air Toxics, Mailcode 3AP10, 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-
2015-0225. 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 Maryland Department of the Environment, 1800 
Washington Boulevard, Suite 705, Baltimore, Maryland 21230.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: David Talley, (215) 814-2117, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 24, 2013, MDE submitted a 
revision to the Maryland SIP.

I. Background

    The proposed revision consists of amendments to Regulation .09 
under section 26.11.02 of the Code of Maryland Regulations (COMAR). An 
amendment to COMAR 26.11.01.01 inadvertently widened the universe of 
sources that are required to obtain a permit to construct under COMAR 
26.11.02.09. The previously approved version of COMAR 26.11.02.09A(4) 
requires that any ``National Emission Standards for Hazardous Air 
Pollutants Source (NESHAP Source) as defined in section 26.11.01.01 . . 
.'' obtain a permit to construct. The definition of NESHAP Source at 
COMAR 26.11.01.01B(21) was amended and simplified (specifically, 
26.11.01.01B(21)(b)), effective March 5, 2012.\1\ The revised 
definition had the unintended consequence of requiring that all sources 
subject to the NESHAP obtain a permit to construct, even the small 
emission sources which had previously been exempt under section 
26.11.02.10.
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    \1\ It should be noted that COMAR 26.11.01.01B(21) is not part 
of the Maryland SIP.
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    The proposed revision to section 26.11.02.09A(4) allows MDE to 
retain the exemptions for smaller sources as originally intended and 
already approved in the Maryland SIP. Additionally, Regulations .09A(3) 
and .09A(4) under section 26.11.02 were revised to clarify that 
electric generating stations that meet the definitions of New Source 
Performance Standard (NSPS) sources and NESHAP sources are exempt from 
MDE permitting requirements only if they receive a Certificate of 
Public Convenience and Necessity (CPCN) from the Maryland Public 
Service Commission (PSC).

II. Summary of SIP Revision

    COMAR 26.11.02.09A(4) has been revised to specify that NESHAP 
sources ``. . . as defined by COMAR 26.11.01.01B(21)(a),'' are required 
to obtain a permit to construct. This corrects the unintended 
consequence of applying MDE permitting requirements to emission sources 
that would otherwise be exempt. COMAR 26.11.02.09A(6) will continue to 
require that all sources not explicitly exempt are required to obtain a 
permit to construct. Additionally, as previously discussed, Regulations 
.09A(3) and .09A(4) under section 26.11.02 have been revised to clarify 
that electric generating stations that meet the definitions of NSPS 
sources and NESHAP sources are exempt from permitting requirements only 
if they receive a CPCN from the Maryland PSC. The proposed revisions 
were effective in Maryland on July 8, 2013.

III. Proposed Action

    EPA's review of this material indicates that it meets all 
applicable CAA requirements. EPA notes that in a February 10, 2012 
final rulemaking action, limited approval was granted to a Maryland SIP 
revision that included amendments to COMAR 26.11.02.09. See 77 FR 6963. 
The reasons for that limited approval are unrelated to this action, and 
do not prevent EPA from granting full approval to the currently 
proposed amendments to section

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26.11.02.09. Therefore, EPA is proposing to approve MDE's January 24, 
2013 SIP revision. EPA is soliciting public comments on the issues 
discussed in this document. These comments will be considered before 
taking final action.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this proposed rulemaking action, EPA is proposing to include in 
a final EPA rule, regulatory text that includes incorporation by 
reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 51.5, the EPA is 
proposing to incorporate by reference Maryland's permit to construct 
requirements as discussed in section II of this preamble. The EPA has 
made, and will continue to make, these documents generally available 
electronically through www.regulations.gov and/or in hard copy at the 
appropriate EPA office (see the ADDRESSES section of this preamble for 
more information).

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 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 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, relating to Maryland's 
preconstruction permitting requirements, 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

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

     Dated: April 16, 2015.
William C. Early,
Acting, Regional Administrator, Region III.
[FR Doc. 2015-10008 Filed 4-28-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P