[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 80 (Tuesday, April 26, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24496-24497]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-09587]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2015-0150; FRL-9945-62-Region 4]


Air Quality Plans; North Carolina; Infrastructure Requirements 
for the 2010 Sulfur Dioxide National Ambient Air Quality Standard

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking final 
action to approve portions of the State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
submission, submitted by the State of North Carolina, through the 
Department of Environmental Quality, formerly the Department of 
Environment and Natural Resources, Division of Air Quality (DAQ), on 
March 18, 2014, for inclusion into the North Carolina SIP. This final 
action pertains to the infrastructure requirements of the Clean Air Act 
(CAA or Act) for the 2010 1-hour sulfur dioxide (SO2) 
national ambient air quality standard (NAAQS). The CAA requires that 
each state adopt and submit a SIP for the implementation, maintenance 
and enforcement of each NAAQS promulgated by EPA, which is commonly 
referred to as an ``infrastructure SIP submission.'' DAQ certified that 
the North Carolina SIP contains provisions that ensure the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS is implemented, enforced, and maintained in North 
Carolina. EPA has determined that the North Carolina's infrastructure 
SIP submission, provided to EPA on March 18, 2014, satisfies certain 
required infrastructure elements for the 2010 1-hour SO2 
NAAQS.

DATES: This rule will be effective May 26, 2016.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2015-0150. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the 
index, some information is not publicly available, i.e., Confidential 
Business Information 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 at the Air Regulatory Management Section, Air Planning and 
Implementation 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: Michele Notarianni, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, Region 4, 61 Forsyth Street SW., Atlanta, Georgia 
30303-8960. Ms. Notarianni can be reached via electronic mail at 
[email protected] or via telephone at (404) 562-9031.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background and Overview

    On June 22, 2010 (75 FR 35520), EPA revised the primary 
SO2 NAAQS to an hourly standard of 75 parts per billion 
(ppb) based on a 3-year average of the annual 99th percentile of 1-hour 
daily maximum concentrations. Pursuant to section 110(a)(1) of the CAA, 
states are required to submit SIPs meeting the applicable requirements 
of section 110(a)(2) within three years after promulgation of a new or 
revised NAAQS or within such shorter period as EPA may prescribe. 
Section 110(a)(2) requires states to address basic SIP elements such as 
requirements for monitoring, basic program requirements and legal 
authority that are designed to assure attainment and maintenance of the 
NAAQS. States were required to submit such SIPs for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS to EPA no later than June 2, 2013.\1\
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    \1\ Today, EPA is providing clarification for an inadvertent 
typographical error that was included in the February 25, 2016, 
proposed rulemaking, for this final action. In the February 25, 
2016, proposed rulemaking it was stated that the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS infrastructure SIPs were due no later than June 
22, 2013. The 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS infrastructure SIPs 
were actually due to EPA from states no later than June 2, 2013.
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    In a proposed rulemaking published on February 25, 2016, EPA 
proposed to approve North Carolina's 2010 1-hour SO2 NAAQS 
infrastructure SIP submission submitted on March 18, 2014, with the 
exception of the PSD permitting requirements for major sources of 
section 110(a)(2)(C) and (J), the interstate transport requirements of 
section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) and (II) (prongs 1 through 4), and state 
boards requirements of section 110(a)(2)(E)(ii).\2\ See 81 FR 9398. The 
details of North Carolina's submission and the rationale for EPA's 
actions are explained in the proposed rulemaking. Comments on the 
proposed rulemaking were due on or before March 28, 2016. EPA received 
no comments on the proposed action.
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    \2\ On November 3, 2015, in a previous rulemaking, EPA approved 
the requirements for state boards for North Carolina in relation to 
the 2010 SO2 NAAQS. See 80 FR 67645.
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II. Final Action

    With the exception of the PSD permitting requirements for major 
sources of section 110(a)(2)(C) and (J), the interstate transport 
requirements of section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) and (II) (prongs 1 through 
4), and state boards requirements of section 110(a)(2)(E)(ii), EPA is 
taking final action to approve North Carolina's infrastructure 
submission submitted on March 18, 2014, for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS. EPA is taking final action to approve portions of 
North Carolina's infrastructure SIP submission for the 2010 1-hour 
SO2 NAAQS because the submission is consistent with section 
110 of the CAA.

[[Page 24497]]

III. 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 
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 Orders 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January 21, 2011);
     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).
    The SIP is not approved to apply on any Indian reservation land or 
in any other area where EPA or an Indian tribe has demonstrated that a 
tribe has jurisdiction. In those areas of Indian country, the rule does 
not have tribal implications as specified by Executive Order 13175 (65 
FR 67249, November 9, 2000), nor will it impose substantial direct 
costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law.
    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).
    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 June 27, 2016. 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. This action 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, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur dioxide.

    Dated: April 14, 2016.
Heather McTeer Toney
Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    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 II--North Carolina

0
2. Section 52.1770(e) is amended by adding a new entry ``110(a)(1) and 
(2) Infrastructure Requirements for the 2010 1-hour SO2 
NAAQS'' at the end of the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.1770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                              EPA-Approved North Carolina Non-Regulatory Provisions
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                                        State       EPA approval     Federal Register
            Provision              effective date       date             citation              Explanation
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                                                  * * * * * * *
110(a)(1) and (2) Infrastructure        3/18/2014       4/26/2016  [Insert citation of  With the exception of
 Requirements for the 2010 1-hour                                   publication in       the PSD permitting
 SO2 NAAQS.                                                         Federal Register].   requirements for major
                                                                                         sources of sections
                                                                                         110(a)(2)(C) and (J),
                                                                                         the interstate
                                                                                         transport requirements
                                                                                         of section
                                                                                         110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) and
                                                                                         (II) (prongs 1, 2, 3,
                                                                                         and 4), and the state
                                                                                         board requirements of
                                                                                         section 110(E)(ii).
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[FR Doc. 2016-09587 Filed 4-25-16; 8:45 am]
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