[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 245 (Wednesday, December 21, 2016)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 93622-93623]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-30184]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2013-0799; FRL- 9956-90-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval; Tennessee; Regional Haze Progress Report

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is approving a State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) revision submitted by the State of Tennessee 
through the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC) 
on April 19, 2013. Tennessee's April 19, 2013, SIP revision (Progress 
Report) addresses requirements of the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and 
EPA's rules that require each state to submit periodic reports 
describing progress towards reasonable progress goals (RPGs) 
established for regional haze and a determination of the adequacy of 
the State's existing SIP addressing regional haze (regional haze plan). 
EPA is approving Tennessee's Progress Report on the basis that it 
addresses the progress report and adequacy determination requirements 
for the first implementation period for regional haze.

DATES: This rule will be effective January 20, 2017.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2013-0799. All documents in the docket 
are listed on the www.regulations.gov Web site. Although listed in the 
index, some information may not be 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 by phone at (404) 562-9031 
and via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    Under the Regional Haze Rule,\1\ each state was required to submit 
its first implementation plan addressing regional haze visibility 
impairment to EPA no later than December 17, 2007. See 40 CFR 
51.308(b). Tennessee submitted its regional haze plan on April 4, 2008, 
and like many other states subject to the Clean Air Interstate Rule 
(CAIR), relied on CAIR to satisfy best available retrofit technology 
(BART) requirements for emissions of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides 
from electric generating units in the State.
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    \1\ Located in 40 CFR part 51, subpart P.
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    On April 24, 2012, EPA finalized a limited approval of Tennessee's 
April 4, 2008, regional haze plan as meeting some of the applicable 
regional haze requirements as set forth in sections 169A and 169B of 
the CAA and in 40 CFR 51.300-51.308.\2\ Also in this April 24, 2012, 
action, EPA finalized a limited disapproval of Tennessee's regional 
haze plan because of deficiencies arising from the State's reliance on 
CAIR to satisfy certain regional haze requirements. See 77 FR 24392. On 
June 7, 2012, EPA promulgated Federal Implementation Plans (FIPs) to 
replace reliance on CAIR with reliance on the Cross State Air Pollution 
Rule (CSAPR) to address deficiencies in CAIR-dependent regional haze 
plans of several states, including Tennessee's regional haze plan.\3\ 
See 77 FR 33642.
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    \2\ This April 24, 2012, action did not include the BART 
determination for Eastman Chemical Company (Eastman). On November 
27, 2012, EPA finalized approval of the BART requirements for 
Eastman that were provided in the April 4, 2008, regional haze SIP, 
as later modified and supplemented on May 14, 2012, and May 25, 2012 
(77 FR 70689).
    \3\ Although a number of parties challenged the legality of 
CSAPR and the D.C. Circuit initially vacated and remanded CSAPR to 
EPA in EME Homer City Generation, L.P. v. EPA, 696 F.3d 7 (D.C. Cir. 
2012), the United States Supreme Court reversed the D.C. Circuit's 
decision on April 29, 2014, and remanded the case to the D.C. 
Circuit to resolve remaining issues in accordance with the high 
court's ruling. EPA v. EME Homer City Generation, L.P., 134 S. Ct. 
1584 (2014). On remand, the D.C. Circuit affirmed CSAPR in most 
respects, and CSAPR is now in effect. EME Homer City Generation, 
L.P. v. EPA, 795 F.3d 118 (D.C. Cir. 2015).
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    Each state is also required to submit a progress report in the form 
of a SIP revision every five years that evaluates progress towards the 
RPGs for each mandatory Class I Federal area within the state and for 
each mandatory Class I Federal area outside the state which may be 
affected by emissions from within the state. See 40 CFR 51.308(g). Each 
state is also required to submit, at the same time as the progress 
report, a determination of the adequacy of its existing regional haze 
plan. See 40 CFR 51.308(h). The first progress report was due five 
years after submittal of the initial regional haze plan.
    On April 19, 2013, as required by 40 CFR 51.308(g), TDEC submitted 
to EPA, in the form of a revision to Tennessee's SIP, a report on 
progress made towards the RPGs for Class I areas in the State and for 
Class I areas outside the State that are affected by emissions from 
sources within the State. This submission also includes a negative 
declaration pursuant to 40 CFR 51.308(h)(1) that the State's regional 
haze plan is sufficient in meeting the requirements of the Regional 
Haze Rule.
    In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on September 
28, 2016 (81 FR 66596), EPA proposed to approve Tennessee's Progress 
Report on the basis that it satisfies the requirements of 40 CFR 
51.308(g) and 51.308(h). No comments were received on the September 28, 
2016, proposed rulemaking. The details of Tennessee's submittal and the 
rationale for EPA's action is further explained in the NPRM. See 81 FR 
66596 (September 28, 2016).

II. Final Action

    EPA is finalizing approval of Tennessee's Regional Haze Progress 
Report SIP revision, submitted by the State on April 19, 2013, as 
meeting the applicable regional haze requirements

[[Page 93623]]

set forth in 40 CFR 51.308(g) and 51.308(h).

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 (Public Law 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 February 21, 2017. 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, Nitrogen oxides, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur dioxide, 
Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: December 1, 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 RR--Tennessee

0
2. Section 52.2220(e), is amended by adding an entry for ``April 2013 
Regional Haze Progress Report'' at the end of the table to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.2220   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                                EPA-Approved Tennessee Non-Regulatory Provisions
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                                   Applicable
   Name of non-regulatory SIP     geographic or       State
           provision              nonattainment  effective date  EPA approval date           Explanation
                                      area
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                                                  * * * * * * *
April 2013 Regional Haze              Tennessee       4/19/2013  12/21/2016,
 Progress Report.                                                 [insert Federal
                                                                  Register
                                                                  citation].
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[FR Doc. 2016-30184 Filed 12-20-16; 8:45 am]
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