[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 66 (Friday, April 7, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 16927-16930]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-06877]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2016-0575; FRL-9960-57-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval; Tennessee: Reasonable Measures Required

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency.

ACTION: Direct final rule.

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SUMMARY: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is taking 
direct final action to approve a State Implementation Plan (SIP) 
revision submitted by the State of Tennessee, through the Tennessee 
Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), on March 25, 1999. 
The SIP submittal includes a change to the TDEC regulation ``Reasonable 
Measures Required.'' EPA is proposing to approve this SIP revision 
because it is consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and 
federal regulations governing SIPs.

[[Page 16928]]


DATES: This direct final rule is effective June 6, 2017 without further 
notice, unless EPA receives adverse comment by May 8, 2017. 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 No. EPA-R04-
OAR-2016-0575 at http://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. EPA may publish any comment 
received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. EPA will 
generally not consider comments or comment contents located outside of 
the primary submission (i.e., on the Web, cloud, or other file sharing 
system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA public comment 
policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, and general 
guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: D. Brad Akers, 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. Mr. Akers can be reached via telephone at (404) 562-9089 
and via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    On March 25, 1999, TDEC submitted a change to the Tennessee rules 
to EPA for approval and incorporation into the Tennessee SIP. 
Specifically, the submittal includes a change to remove a portion of 
text from Tennessee Air Pollution Control Regulation (TAPCR) Rule 1200-
3-20-.02, ``Reasonable Measures Required,'' at paragraph (1). Existing 
paragraph (1) covers measures that air contaminant sources must take 
during periods of startup and shutdown and the treatment of equipment 
failures that are not considered to be malfunctions. This provision was 
originally submitted by TDEC as part of Chapter 1200-3-20, ``Limits on 
Emissions Due to Malfunctions, Start-ups, and Shutdowns'' on February 
13, 1979, and approved by EPA on February 6, 1980 (45 FR 8004).\1\
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    \1\ The current SIP-approved version of paragraph (1) of Chapter 
1200-3-20-.02 is the version that became state-effective on February 
13, 1977. 40 CFR 52.2220(c).
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II. Analysis of State's Submittal

    The current SIP-approved version of TAPCR 1200-3-20-.02 provides, 
in part, that for sources that are in or are significantly affecting a 
nonattainment area, ``failures that are caused by poor maintenance, 
careless operation or any other preventable upset condition or 
preventable equipment breakdown shall not be considered malfunctions, 
and shall be considered in violation of the emission standard exceeded 
and this rule.'' The March 25, 1999, submittal modifies the treatment 
of those equipment failures that are not considered malfunctions by 
removing the statement that such failures ``shall be considered in 
violation of the emission standard exceeded and this rule.'' \2\ This 
rule change simply eliminates language indicating that a source which 
experiences an equipment failure is automatically in violation of 
applicable emission standards and the Tennessee rule. EPA believes this 
change is appropriate because an instance of equipment failure does not 
always result in an exceedance of an emission standard. In addition, 
EPA notes that, in accordance with TAPCR 1200-3-13-.01, any preventable 
failure to properly operate control equipment may still be in violation 
of emission control requirements contained in specific emission 
standards of the Tennessee SIP.
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    \2\ The provision at TAPCR 1200-3-20-.02(1) in the March 25, 
1999, submittal does not include the phrase ``[f]or sources 
identified in Chapter 1200-3-19, or by a permit condition or an 
order issued by the Board or by the Technical Secretary as being in 
or significantly affecting a nonattainment area,'' which is 
currently approved into the SIP. However, EPA is processing only the 
revision presented in the March 25, 1999, submittal, as discussed in 
Section II.
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    This SIP revision does not provide an exemption for any applicable 
emission standards, nor does it modify any applicable requirements for 
air contaminant sources. With this change, all applicable emission 
standards will continue to apply during all times. EPA is approving 
this revision because it is consistent with the CAA.

III. Start Up, Shutdown, and Malfunction (SSM) SIP Call Considerations

    In this action, EPA is not approving or disapproving revisions to 
any existing pollutant emission limitations that apply during periods 
of startup, shutdown and malfunction. EPA notes that on June 12, 2015, 
the Agency published a formal finding that a number of states, 
including Tennessee, have SIPs with SSM provisions that are contrary to 
the CAA and existing EPA guidance. See 80 FR 33840. Accordingly, EPA 
issued a formal ``SIP call'' requiring the affected states to make a 
SIP submission to correct the SSM regulations identified by EPA as 
being deficient. Id. In that final action, EPA determined that TAPCR 
Chapters 1200-3-20 and 1200-3-5 have provisions that are contrary to 
the CAA, specifically TAPCR 1200-3-20-.07(1), 1200-3-20-.07(3) and 
1200-3-5-.02(1). This direct final action only removes language from 
1200-3-20-.02(1) indicating that an equipment failure that does not 
qualify as a malfunction is an automatic violation. Therefore, this 
final action does not impact the provisions of the Tennessee 
regulations implicated in the SSM SIP call and has no effect on EPA's 
June 12, 2015, finding of inadequacy regarding Tennessee's SIP.

IV. Incorporation by Reference

    In this rule, EPA is finalizing regulatory text that includes 
incorporation by reference. In accordance with requirements of 1 CFR 
51.5, EPA is finalizing the incorporation by reference of TAPCR 1200-3-
20-.02(1), entitled ``Reasonable Measures Required,'' effective 
November 11, 1997, which removed a statement that preventable failures 
of process or control equipment were presumptively in violation of 
applicable emission standards and the rule. Therefore, these materials 
have been approved by EPA for inclusion in the SIP, have been 
incorporated by reference by EPA into that plan, are fully federally 
enforceable under sections 110 and 113 of the CAA as of the effective 
date of the final rulemaking of EPA's approval, and will be 
incorporated by reference by the Director of the Federal Register in 
the next update to the SIP compilation.\3\ EPA has made, and will 
continue to make, these materials generally available through 
www.regulations.gov and/or at the EPA Region 4 Office (please contact 
the person identified in the FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT section of 
this preamble for more information).
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    \3\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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V. Final Action

    EPA is approving a change to the Tennessee SIP at TAPCR 1200-3-
20-.02, submitted March 25, 1999, because

[[Page 16929]]

it is consistent with the CAA and federal regulations. EPA is 
publishing this rule without prior proposal because the Agency views 
this as a noncontroversial submittal and anticipates no adverse 
comments. However, in the proposed rules section of this Federal 
Register publication, EPA is publishing a separate document that will 
serve as the proposal to approve the SIP revision should adverse 
comments be filed. This rule will be effective June 6, 2017 without 
further notice unless the Agency receives adverse comments by May 8, 
2017.
    If EPA receives such comments, then EPA will publish a document 
withdrawing the final rule and informing the public that the rule will 
not take effect. All public comments received will then be addressed in 
a subsequent final rule based on the proposed rule. EPA will not 
institute a second comment period. Parties interested in commenting 
should do so at this time. If no such comments are received, the public 
is advised that this rule will be effective on June 6, 2017 and no 
further action will be taken on the proposed rule.

VI. 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 6, 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. 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. 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, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

    Dated: March 15, 2017.
V. Anne Heard,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.

    40 CFR part 52 is amended as follows:

PART 52--APPROVAL AND PROMULGATION OF IMPLEMENTATION PLANS

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

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

Subpart RR--Tennessee

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2. In Sec.  52.2220, table 1 in paragraph (c) is amended by revising 
the entry for ``1200-3-20-.02'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2220  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

[[Page 16930]]



                                   Table 1--EPA Approved Tennessee Regulations
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                                                            State
         State citation              Title/subject     effective date   EPA approval date       Explanation
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               CHAPTER 1200-3-20 LIMITS ON EMISSIONS DUE TO MALFUNCTIONS, START-UPS, AND SHUTDOWNS
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                                                  * * * * * * *
1200-3-20-.02...................  Reasonable Measures      11/11/1997  4/7/2017, [insert   .....................
                                   Required.                            Federal Register
                                                                        citation].
 
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[FR Doc. 2017-06877 Filed 4-6-17; 8:45 am]
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