[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 147 (Friday, July 31, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 45613-45615]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-18760]



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R03-OAR-2015-0411; FRL-9931-56-Region 3]


Approval and Promulgation of Air Quality Implementation Plans; 
West Virginia; 2011 Base Year Emissions Inventory for the Marshall, 
West Virginia Nonattainment Area for the 2010 1-Hour Sulfur Dioxide 
National Ambient Air Quality Standard

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking direct 
final action to approve the 2011 base year emissions inventory 
submitted by the State of West Virginia for the 2010 1-hour sulfur 
dioxide (SO2) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS). 
The emissions inventory was submitted to meet one of the nonattainment 
requirements for the Marshall, West Virginia nonattainment area 
(Marshall Area or Area) for the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS. EPA 
is approving the 2011 base year emissions inventory for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS for the Marshall Area in accordance with the 
requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA).

DATES: This rule is effective on September 29, 2015 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse written comment by August 31, 2015. 
If EPA receives such comments, it will publish a timely withdrawal of 
the direct final rule in the Federal Register and inform the public 
that the rule will not take effect.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID Number EPA-
R03-OAR-2015-0411 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-2015-0411, 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-
2015-0411. 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 
is available at the West Virginia Department of Environmental 
Protection, Division of Air Quality, 601 57th Street SE., Charleston, 
West Virginia 25304.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marilyn Powers, (215) 814-2308, or by 
email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background
II. Summary of West Virginia's Submittal
III. Final Action
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background

    In June 2010, EPA promulgated a new 1-hour primary SO2 
NAAQS of 75 parts per billion (ppb), which is met at an ambient air 
quality monitoring site when the 3-year average of the annual 99th 
percentile of 1-hour daily maximum concentrations does not exceed 75 
ppb, as determined in accordance with Appendix T of 40 CFR part 50. See 
40 CFR 50.17(a)-(b). On August 5, 2013, the EPA designated 29 areas of 
the country, including the Marshall Area, as nonattainment for the 2010 
SO2 NAAQS (77 FR 47191). The Marshall Area is comprised of 
Clay, Franklin, and Washington Tax Districts in Marshall County, West 
Virginia.
    An area designated as nonattainment for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS is required to submit a nonattainment SIP to EPA 
meeting the requirements of subparts 1 and 5 of part D, of Title I of 
the CAA, providing for attainment of the NAAQS by the applicable 
statutory attainment date. See CAA sections 172 and 191-192. These SIPs 
are required to provide for future attainment of the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS as expeditiously as practicable, but no later than 
5 years from the effective date of designation as nonattainment. One of 
the requirements for states with an SO2 nonattainment area 
is the submission of an emissions inventory. Section 172(c)(3) requires 
the submission of a comprehensive, accurate, current accounting of 
actual emissions from all sources of the relevant pollutant in the 
nonattainment area.

II. Summary of West Virginia's Submittal

    On May 6, 2015, the West Virginia Department of Environmental 
Protection (WVDEP) submitted the 2011 base year emissions inventory for 
the Marshall Area for the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS to meet the 
requirements of CAA section 172(c)(3). The base year inventory includes 
actual annual emissions of SO2 that cover the general source 
categories of stationary point sources, stationary nonpoint sources, 
nonroad mobile sources, and onroad mobile sources. For the purpose of 
the base year inventory, emissions from the entire county were 
submitted. WVDEP used emissions from EPA's 2011 National Emissions 
Inventory (NEI) version 2 for the base

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year inventory. EPA reviewed the results, procedures, and methodologies 
for the base year inventory and found them to be acceptable. EPA's 
technical support document (TSD) for the base year inventory, dated 
June 8, 2015, is available in the docket for this proposed rulemaking 
action at Docket ID number EPA-R03-OAR-2015-0411.

III. Final Action

    Pursuant to section 172(c) of the CAA, EPA is approving the 2011 
base year emissions inventory submitted by the State of West Virginia 
for the 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS as a revision to the West 
Virginia SIP. EPA is publishing this rule without prior proposal 
because EPA views this as a noncontroversial amendment and anticipates 
no adverse comment. However, in the ``Proposed Rules'' section of 
today's Federal Register, EPA is publishing a separate document that 
will serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revisions if adverse 
comments are filed. This rule will be effective on September 29, 2015 
without further notice unless EPA receives adverse comment by August 
31, 2015. If EPA receives adverse comment, EPA will publish a timely 
withdrawal in the Federal Register informing the public that the rule 
will not take effect. EPA will address all public comments in a 
subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not 
institute a second comment period on this action. Any parties 
interested in commenting must do so at this time.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

A. General Requirements

    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.

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 action 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. A major rule cannot 
take effect until 60 days after it is published in the Federal 
Register. This action 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 CAA, petitions for judicial review 
of this action must be filed in the United States Court of Appeals for 
the appropriate circuit by September 29, 2015. Filing a petition for 
reconsideration by the Administrator of this final rule does not affect 
the finality of this action 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. Parties with objections to this direct final rule are 
encouraged to file a comment in response to the parallel notice of 
proposed rulemaking for this action published in the proposed rules 
section of today's Federal Register, rather than file an immediate 
petition for judicial review of this direct final rule, so that EPA can 
withdraw this direct final rule and address the comment in the proposed 
rulemaking action.
    This action approving the 2011 base year emissions inventory for 
the Marshall, West Virginia nonattainment area for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS may not be challenged later in proceedings to 
enforce its requirements. (See section 307(b)(2)).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur dioxide.

    Dated: July 20, 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 XX--West Virginia

0
2. In Sec.  52.2520, the table in paragraph (e) is amended by adding 
the entry ``2011 Base Year Emissions Inventory for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 standard'' at the end of the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2520  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

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                                                                State
Name of non-regulatory SIP revision   Applicable geographic   submittal      EPA approval date      Additional
                                              area               date                               explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
2011 Base Year Emissions Inventory   Marshall, West             5/6/2015  7/31/2015 [Insert                 Sec.
 for the 2010 1-hour SO2 standard.    Virginia 2010 1-hour                 Federal Register           52.2531(i)
                                      SO2 nonattainment                    citation].
                                      area.
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0
3. In Sec.  52.2531, paragraph (i) is added to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2531  Base year emissions inventory.

* * * * *
    (i) EPA approves as a revision to the West Virginia State 
Implementation Plan the 2011 base year emissions inventory for the 
Marshall, West Virginia 2010 1-hour SO2 nonattainment area 
submitted by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection 
on May 6, 2015. The 2011 base year emissions inventory for 
SO2 includes emissions estimates that cover the general 
source categories of point sources, nonpoint sources, on road sources, 
and non-road sources.

[FR Doc. 2015-18760 Filed 7-30-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P