[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 169 (Friday, September 1, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 41527-41529]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-18498]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Parts 52 and 81
[EPA-R05-OAR-2016-0513; FRL-9967-17-Region 5]
Air Plan Approval; Indiana; Redesignation of the Indiana Portion
of the Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-IN-KY Area to Attainment of the 1997
Annual Standard for Fine Particulate Matter
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is redesignating the
Indiana portion of the Cincinnati-Hamilton, OH-IN-KY, nonattainment
area (hereafter, ``the Cincinnati-Hamilton area'') to attainment for
the 1997 fine particulate matter (PM2.5) annual national
ambient air quality standard (NAAQS or standard). The Indiana portion
of the Cincinnati-Hamilton area includes Lawrenceburg Township within
Dearborn County. Because EPA has determined that the Cincinnati-
Hamilton area is attaining this annual PM2.5 standard, EPA
is redesignating the area to attainment and also approving several
additional related actions. First, EPA is approving an update to the
Indiana State implementation plan (SIP) by updating the state's
approved plan for maintaining the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS
through 2027. In addition, EPA previously approved the base year
emissions inventory for the Cincinnati-Hamilton area, and is approving
Indiana's updated emissions inventory which includes emissions
inventories for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ammonia.
Indiana's approved maintenance plan submission also includes a budget
for the mobile source contribution of PM2.5 and nitrogen
oxides (NOX) to the Cincinnati-Hamilton area for
transportation conformity purposes, which EPA is approving. EPA is
taking these actions in accordance with the Clean Air Act (CAA) and
EPA's implementation rule regarding the 1997 PM2.5 NAAQS.
DATES: This final rule is effective September 1, 2017.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2016-0513. 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 (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
through www.regulations.gov or at the Environmental Protection Agency,
Region 5, Air and Radiation Division, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,
Chicago, Illinois 60604. This facility is open from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30
p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding Federal holidays. We recommend
that you telephone Michelle Becker, Life Scientist, at (312) 886-3901
before visiting the Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michelle Becker, Life Scientist,
Attainment Planning and Maintenance Section, Air Programs Branch (AR-
18J), Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson
Boulevard, Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-3901,
[email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document whenever ``we,''
``us,'' or ``our'' is used, we mean EPA. This supplementary information
section is arranged as follows:
I. Background
II. What action is EPA taking?
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
On August 19, 2016, Indiana submitted a request to EPA to
redesignate the Cincinnati-Hamilton area to attainment for the 1997
PM2.5 annual standard, and to approve updates to the
maintenance plan for the area. In an action published on June 22, 2017
(82 FR 28435), EPA proposed to redesignate the area and approve several
actions related to the redesignation (82 FR 28435). Additional
background and details regarding this final action can be found in the
June 22, 2017, proposed rule. The comment period for this proposed
rulemaking closed on July 24, 2017. No comments were received for this
proposed rule.
II. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is taking several actions related to redesignation of the
Cincinnati-Hamilton area to attainment for the 1997 annual
PM2.5 NAAQS.
EPA has previously approved Indiana's PM2.5 maintenance
plan and motor vehicle emissions budgets for the Cincinnati-Hamilton
area. EPA has determined that this plan and budgets are still
applicable.
EPA has previously approved the 2005 primary PM2.5,
NOX, and sulfur dioxide (SO2) base year emissions
inventory. EPA is approving Indiana's updated emissions inventory which
includes emissions inventories for VOCs and ammonia from 2007. EPA has
determined that Indiana meets the emissions inventory requirement under
section 107(d)(3)(E)(iii).
In The Fine Particulate Matter National Ambient Air Quality
Standards: State Implementation Plan Requirements final rule (final
PM2.5 SIP requirements rule), EPA revoked the 1997 primary
annual PM2.5 NAAQS in areas that had always been attainment
for that NAAQS, and in areas that had been designated as nonattainment
but that were redesignated to attainment before October 24, 2016, the
rule's effective date. See 81 FR 58010, August 24, 2016. EPA also
finalized a provision that revokes the 1997 primary annual
PM2.5 NAAQS in areas that are redesignated to attainment for
that NAAQS after October 24, 2016, effective on the effective date of
the redesignation of the area to attainment for that NAAQS. See 40 CFR
50.13(d).
EPA is redesignating the Indiana portion of the Cincinnati-Hamilton
area to attainment for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS and
approving the CAA section 175A maintenance plan for the 1997 primary
annual PM2.5 NAAQS for the reasons described elsewhere in
the January 4, 2017, proposed action.\1\ The
[[Page 41528]]
1997 primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS will be revoked in the area
on the effective date of this redesignation. Beginning on that date,
the area will no longer be subject to transportation or general
conformity requirements for the 1997 annual PM2.5 NAAQS due
to the revocation of the primary NAAQS. See 81 FR 58125, August 24,
2016. The area will be required to implement the CAA section 175A
maintenance plan for the 1997 primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS and
the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program for the 1997
annual PM2.5 NAAQS. Once approved, the maintenance plan
could only be revised if the revision meets the requirements of CAA
section 110(l) and, if applicable, CAA section 193. The area would not
be required to submit a second 10-year maintenance plan for the 1997
primary annual PM2.5 NAAQS. See 81 FR 58144, August 24,
2016.
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\1\ CAA section 175A(a) establishes the requirements that must
be fulfilled by nonattainment areas in order to be redesignated to
attainment. That section only requires that nonattainment areas for
the primary standard submit a plan addressing maintenance of the
primary NAAQS in order to be redesignated to attainment; it does not
require nonattainment areas for secondary NAAQS to submit
maintenance plans in order to be redesignated to attainment. (See 42
U.S.C. 7505a(a).)
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In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 553(d), EPA finds there is good cause
for these actions to become effective immediately upon publication.
This is because a delayed effective date is unnecessary due to the
nature of a redesignation to attainment, which relieves the area from
certain CAA requirements that would otherwise apply to it. The
immediate effective date for this action is authorized under both 5
U.S.C. 553(d)(1), which provides that rulemaking actions may become
effective less than 30 days after publication if the rule ``grants or
recognizes an exemption or relieves a restriction,'' and section
553(d)(3), which allows an effective date less than 30 days after
publication ``as otherwise provided by the agency for good cause found
and published with the rule.'' The purpose of the 30-day waiting period
prescribed in section 553(d) is to give affected parties a reasonable
time to adjust their behavior and prepare before the final rule takes
effect. This rulemaking, however, does not create any new regulatory
requirements such that affected parties would need time to prepare
before the rule takes effect. Rather, today's rule relieves the state
of planning requirements for this PM2.5 nonattainment area.
For these reasons, EPA finds good cause under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3) for
these actions to become effective on the date of publication of these
actions.
III. 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 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 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).
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, this rule does not have tribal implications as specified by
Executive Order 13175 (65 FR 67249, November 9, 2000), because
redesignation is an action that affects the status of a geographical
area and does not impose any new regulatory requirements on tribes,
impact any existing sources of air pollution on tribal lands, nor
impair the maintenance of ozone national ambient air quality standards
in tribal lands.
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 31, 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, Particulate matter.
[[Page 41529]]
40 CFR Part 81
Environmental protection, Air pollution control, National parks,
Wilderness areas.
Dated: August 21, 2017.
Robert A. Kaplan,
Acting Regional Administrator, Region 5.
40 CFR part 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.
Subpart P--Indiana
0
2. Section 52.776 is amended by revising paragraph (w)(3) to read as
follows:
Sec. 52.776 Control strategy: Particulate matter.
* * * * *
(w) * * *
(3) Indiana's 2005 NOX, directly emitted
PM2.5, and SO2 emissions inventory; and 2007 VOCs
and ammonia emissions inventory, satisfy the emissions inventory
requirements of section 172(c)(3) for the Cincinnati-Hamilton area.
* * * * *
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. Section 81.315 is amended by revising the entry for Cincinnati-
Hamilton, IN in the table entitled ``Indiana--1997 Annual
PM2.5 NAAQS'' to read as follows:
Sec. 81.315 Indiana.
* * * * *
Indiana--1997 Annual PM2.5 NAAQS
[Primary and Secondary]
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Designation \a\ Classification
Designated area -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date \1\ Type Date \2\ Type
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Cincinnati-Hamilton, IN:
Dearborn County (part): September 1, 2017.... Attainment........... .............. ..............
Lawrenceburg Township.
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\a\ Includes Indian Country located in each county or area, except as otherwise specified.
\1\ This date is 90 days after January 5, 2005, unless otherwise noted.
\2\ This date is July 2, 2014, unless otherwise noted.
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[FR Doc. 2017-18498 Filed 8-31-17; 8:45 am]
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