[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 165 (Monday, August 28, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 40718-40720]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18088]



[[Page 40718]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Parts 52 and 81

[EPA-R04-OAR-2017-0086; FRL-9966-93-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval and Air Quality Designation; TN; Redesignation 
of the Knoxville 2006 24-hour PM2.5 Nonattainment Area to Attainment

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: On December 20, 2016, Tennessee, through the Tennessee 
Department of Environment and Conservation (TDEC), submitted a request 
for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to redesignate the 
Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN fine particulate matter 
(PM2.5) nonattainment area (hereinafter referred to as the 
``Knoxville Area'' or ``Area'') to attainment for the 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) and to 
approve a state implementation plan (SIP) revision containing a 
maintenance plan and a reasonably available control measures (RACM) 
determination for the Area. EPA is approving Tennessee's RACM 
determination for the Knoxville Area and incorporating it into the SIP; 
approving Tennessee's plan for maintaining the 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS for the Knoxville Area (maintenance plan), 
including the associated motor vehicle emission budgets (MVEBs) for 
nitrogen oxides (NOX) and direct PM2.5 for the 
years 2014 and 2028, and incorporating it into the SIP; and 
redesignating the Knoxville Area to attainment for the 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS.

DATES: This rule is effective September 27, 2017.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2017-0086. 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: Sean Lakeman of the Air Regulatory 
Management Section, in the 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. Sean Lakeman may be reached by phone at (404) 562-9043, or 
via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On July 18, 1997, EPA promulgated the first air quality standards 
for PM2.5. EPA promulgated an annual standard at a level of 
15.0 micrograms per cubic meter ([mu]g/m\3\), based on a 3-year average 
of annual mean PM2.5 concentrations. In the same rulemaking, 
EPA promulgated a 24-hour standard of 65 [mu]g/m\3\, based on a 3-year 
average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations. On October 
17, 2006 (71 FR 61144), EPA retained the annual average NAAQS at 15.0 
[mu]g/m\3\ but revised the 24-hour NAAQS to 35 [mu]g/m\3\, based again 
on the 3-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations.
    On November 13, 2009, at 74 FR 58688, EPA designated the Knoxville 
Area as nonattainment for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS. All 
2006 PM2.5 NAAQS areas were designated under title I, part 
D, subpart 1 (hereinafter ``Subpart 1''). Subpart 1 contains the 
general requirements for nonattainment areas for any pollutant governed 
by a NAAQS and is less prescriptive than the other subparts of title I, 
part D. On April 25, 2007 (72 FR 20586), EPA promulgated its Clean Air 
Fine Particle Implementation Rule, codified at 40 CFR part 51, subpart 
Z, in which the Agency provided guidance for state and tribal plans to 
implement the PM2.5 NAAQS. The United States Court of 
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (D.C. Circuit) remanded 
the Clean Air Fine Particle Implementation Rule and the final rule 
entitled ``Implementation of the New Source Review (NSR) Program for 
Particulate Matter Less than 2.5 Micrometers (PM2.5)'' (73 
FR 28321, May 16, 2008) (collectively, ``1997 PM2.5 
Implementation Rules'') to EPA on January 4, 2013, in Natural Resources 
Defense Council v. EPA, 706 F.3d 428 (D.C. Cir. 2013). The Court found 
that EPA erred in implementing the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS pursuant 
to the general implementation provisions of Subpart 1, rather than the 
particulate matter-specific provisions of title I, part D, subpart 4 
(hereinafter ``Subpart 4'').
    On June 2, 2014, EPA published a rule entitled ``Identification of 
Nonattainment Classification and Deadlines for Submission of State 
Implementation Plan (SIP) Provisions for the 1997 Fine Particle 
(PM2.5) National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) and 
2006 PM2.5 NAAQS''. See 79 FR 31566. In that rule, the 
Agency responded to the D.C. Circuit's January 2013 decision by 
identifying all PM2.5 nonattainment areas for the 1997 and 
2006 PM2.5 NAAQS as ``moderate'' nonattainment areas under 
Subpart 4, and by establishing a new SIP submission date of December 
31, 2014, for moderate area attainment plans and for any additional 
attainment-related or nonattainment new source review plans necessary 
for areas to comply with the requirements applicable under Subpart 4. 
Id. at 31567-70.
    Based on its moderate nonattainment area classification, Tennessee 
was required to submit a SIP revision addressing RACM pursuant to CAA 
section 172(c)(1) and section 189(a)(1)(C) for the Area. Although EPA 
does not believe that section 172(c)(1) and section 189(a)(1)(C) RACM 
must be approved into a SIP prior to redesignation of an area to 
attainment once that area is attaining the NAAQS, EPA is approving 
Tennessee's RACM determination and incorporating it into its SIP 
pursuant to a recent decision by the United States Court of Appeals for 
the Sixth Circuit in Sierra Club v. EPA, 793 F.3d 656 (6th Cir. 2015).
    In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on May 30, 2017 
(82 FR 24621), EPA proposed to: (1) Approve Tennessee's RACM 
determination for the Knoxville Area pursuant to CAA sections 172(c)(1) 
and 189(a)(1)(C) and incorporate it into the SIP; (2) approve 
Tennessee's plan for maintaining the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 
NAAQS (maintenance plan), including the associated 2014 and 2028 MVEBs 
for PM2.5 and NOX for the Knoxville Area, and 
incorporate it into the SIP; and (3) redesignate the Knoxville Area to 
attainment for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.\1\ The details 
of Tennessee's

[[Page 40719]]

submittal and the rationale for EPA's actions are explained in the 
NPRM. EPA did not receive any adverse comments on the proposed action.
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    \1\ In a notice published in the Federal Register on March 10, 
2017, EPA announced that it had found the MVEBs for the Knoxville 
Area for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS adequate for 
transportation conformity purposes. See 82 FR 13347.
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II. What are the effects of these actions?

    EPA's approval of Tennessee's redesignation request changes the 
legal designation of Anderson, Blount, Knox, and Loudon Counties and a 
portion of Roane County for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, 
found at 40 CFR part 81, from nonattainment to attainment. Approval of 
Tennessee's associated SIP revision also incorporates a plan for 
maintaining the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS in the Area through 
2028 and Tennessee's RACM determination into the Tennessee SIP. The 
maintenance plan includes contingency measures to remedy any future 
violations of the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS and procedures 
for evaluation of potential violations. The maintenance plan also 
includes NOX and PM2.5 MVEBs for 2014 and 2028 
for the Knoxville Area. The 2014 and 2028 PM2.5 MVEBs are 
1.22 tons per day (tpd) and 0.67 tpd, respectively. The 2014 and 2028 
NOX MVEBs are 42.73 tpd and 19.65 tpd, respectively.

III. Final Actions

    EPA is taking the following final actions: (1) Approving 
Tennessee's RACM determination for the Knoxville Area pursuant to CAA 
sections 172(c)(1) and 189(a)(1)(C) and incorporating it into the SIP; 
(2) approving Tennessee's plan for maintaining the 2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 NAAQS (maintenance plan), including the associated 
2014 and 2028 MVEBs for the Knoxville Area, and incorporating it into 
the SIP; and (3) redesignating the Knoxville Area to attainment for the 
2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.
    Approval of the redesignation request changes the official 
designation of Anderson, Blount, Knox, and Loudon Counties and a 
portion of Roane County for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS, 
found at 40 CFR part 81, from nonattainment to attainment.

IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the CAA, redesignation of an area to attainment and the 
accompanying approval of a maintenance plan under section 107(d)(3)(E) 
are actions that affect the status of a geographical area and do not 
impose any additional regulatory requirements on sources beyond those 
imposed by state law. A redesignation to attainment does not in and of 
itself create any new requirements, but rather results in the 
applicability of requirements contained in the CAA for areas that have 
been redesignated to attainment. Moreover, 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, these actions merely approve state law as meeting federal 
requirements and do not impose additional requirements beyond those 
imposed by state law. For that reason, these actions:
     Are not significant regulatory actions subject to review 
by the Office of Management and Budget under Executive Order 12866 (58 
FR 51735, October 4, 1993) and 13563 (76 FR 3821, January, 21, 2011);
     do not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     are 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.);
     do 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);
     do not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     are not economically significant regulatory actions based 
on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     are not significant regulatory actions subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     are 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
     will not have disproportionate human health or 
environmental effects under Executive Order 12898 (59 FR 7629, February 
16, 1994).
    In addition, 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 of 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 October 27, 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

 40 CFR Part 52

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control, Incorporation by 
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Nitrogen oxides, Particulate 
matter, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Sulfur oxides, 
Volatile organic compounds.

40 CFR Part 81

    Environmental protection, Air pollution control.

    Dated: August 16, 2017.
V. Anne Heard,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 4.
    40 CFR parts 52 and 81 are 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.

[[Page 40720]]

Subpart RR--Tennessee

0
2. Section 52.2220(e) is amended by adding entries for ``2006 24-hour 
PM2.5 Maintenance Plan for the Knoxville-Sevierville-La 
Follette Area'' and ``RACM determination for the Knoxville-Sevierville-
La Follette Area for the 2006 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS'' at the 
end of the table to read as follows:


Sec.  52.2220   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * *

                                EPA-Approved Tennessee Non-Regulatory Provisions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                  Applicable
  Name of non-regulatory SIP    geographic or        State
          provision             nonattainment   effective date        EPA approval date           Explanation
                                     area
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
2006 24-hour PM2.5             Anderson,            12/20/2016  8/28/2017 [Insert citation    ..................
 Maintenance Plan for the       Blount, Knox,                    of publication].
 Knoxville-Sevierville-La       and Loudon
 Follette Area.                 Counties and a
                                portion of
                                Roane County
                                (the area
                                described by
                                U.S. Census
                                2000 block
                                group
                                identifier 47-
                                145-0307-2.).
RACM determination for the     Anderson,            12/20/2016  8/28/2017 [Insert citation    ..................
 Knoxville-Sevierville-La       Blount, Knox,                    of publication].
 Follette Area for the 2006     and Loudon
 24-hour PM2.5 NAAQS.           Counties and a
                                portion of
                                Roane County
                                (the area
                                described by
                                U.S. Census
                                2000 block
                                group
                                identifier 47-
                                145-0307-2.).
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PART 81--DESIGNATION OF AREAS FOR AIR QUALITY PLANNING PURPOSES

0
3. The authority citation for part 81 continues to read as follows:

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


0
4. In Sec.  81.343, the table entitled ``Tennessee--2006 24-Hour PM 
2.5 NAAQS'' is amended by revising the entry for 
``Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette, TN:'' to read as follows:


Sec.  81.343   Tennessee.

* * * * *

                                       Tennessee--2006 24-Hour PM2.5 NAAQS
                                             [Primary and secondary]
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                      Designation \a\                        Classification
          Designated area           ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        Date \1\                    Type                  Date \2\       Type
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Knoxville-Sevierville-La Follette,        8/28/2017  Attainment.......................  ...........  ...........
 TN:
    Anderson County................  ..............  Attainment.......................  ...........  ...........
    Blount County..................  ..............  Attainment.......................  ...........  ...........
    Knox County....................  ..............  Attainment.......................  ...........  ...........
    Loudon County..................  ..............  Attainment.......................  ...........  ...........
    Roane County (part)............  ..............  Attainment.......................  ...........  ...........
    The area described by U.S.       ..............  .................................  ...........  ...........
     Census 2000 block group
     identifier 47-145-0307-2..
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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\a\ Includes Indian Country located in each county or area, except as otherwise specified.
\1\ This date is 30 days after November 13, 2009, unless otherwise noted.
\2\ This date is July 2, 2014, unless otherwise noted.

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[FR Doc. 2017-18088 Filed 8-25-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P