[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 194 (Tuesday, October 10, 2017)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 46921-46923]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-21605]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2017-0360; FRL-9968-90-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval; Alabama: Prevention of Significant 
Deterioration Updates

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 revisions to Alabama's State 
Implementation Plan (SIP), submitted by the State of Alabama, through 
the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM), on May 8, 
2013, and August 23, 2016. The portions of these SIP revisions that EPA 
is finalizing approval of relate to the State's Prevention of 
Significant Deterioration (PSD) permitting program. This action is 
being taken pursuant to the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act).

DATES: This rule is effective November 9, 2017.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2017-0360. 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: Andres Febres of 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. Mr. Febres can be reached by telephone at (404) 562-8966 or 
via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background

    On May 8, 2013 and August 23, 2016, ADEM submitted SIP revisions 
for EPA's approval that include changes to Alabama's PSD permitting 
regulations, among other changes. In a notice of proposed rulemaking 
published on August 15, 2017 (82 FR 38660), EPA proposed to approve 
certain portions of these submittals that make changes to ADEM 
Administrative Code Rule 335-3-14-.04--``Air Permits Authorizing 
Construction in Clean Areas (Prevention of Significant Deterioration 
Permitting (PSD)),'' which applies to the construction or modification 
of any major stationary source in areas designated as attainment or 
unclassifiable as required by part C of title I of the CAA.
    Alabama's May 8, 2013, SIP submittal includes changes to Rule 335-
3-14-.04 to address the Federal rule entitled ``Implementation of the 
New Source Review (NSR) Program for Particulate Matter Less Than 2.5 
Micrometers (PM2.5): Amendment to the Definition of 
`Regulated NSR Pollutant' Concerning Condensable Particulate Matter,'' 
77 FR 65107 (October 25, 2012) (hereinafter referred to as the 
PM2.5 Condensables Correction Rule),\1\ and plantwide 
applicability limits (PALs) for greenhouse gases (GHGs) as allowed in 
the Federal rule entitled ``Prevention of Significant Deterioration and 
Title V Greenhouse Gas Tailoring Rule Step 3 and GHG Plantwide 
Applicability Limits,'' 77 FR 41051 (July 12, 2012) (hereinafter 
referred to as the GHG Step 3 Rule).\2\ In addition, the SIP submittal 
includes changes to the definition of GHGs in Rule 335-3-14-.04 and 
Rule 335-3-16 (regarding major source operating permits) to address 
EPA's July 20, 2011 rule deferring PSD requirements for carbon dioxide 
(CO2) emissions from bioenergy and other biogenic sources 
(hereinafter referred to as the ``Biomass Deferral Rule'').\3\ 
Alabama's May 8, 2013, SIP submission also includes the following 
changes to other Alabama rules: Changes to the definition of Volatile 
Organic Compounds (VOCs) at Rule 335-3-1-.02; changes to the 
incorporation by reference (IBR) of the Federal New Source Performance 
Standards in Chapter 335-3-10 and National Emissions Standards for 
Hazardous Air Pollutants in Chapter 335-3-11; and changes regarding 
transportation conformity provisions at Rule Chapter 335-3-16.
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    \1\ Given the corrections to the federal definition of 
``particulate matter emissions'' in the PM2.5 
Condensables Correction Rule, EPA is removing the note regarding 
``particulate matter emissions'' in the table entry for Rule 335-3-
14-.04 at 40 CFR 52.50(c). In addition, EPA is removing the note 
regarding PM2.5 Significant Impact Levels (SILs) in the 
table entry for Rule 335-3-14-.04 at 40 CFR 52.50(c) because, on 
October 9, 2014, ADEM submitted a letter to EPA withdrawing these 
SILs from EPA's consideration as included in a May 2, 2011, SIP 
submittal.
    \2\ For background information on GHG permitting, including the 
GHG Step 3 Rule, see 82 FR 38662.
    \3\ Emissions of CO2 from a stationary source 
directly resulting from the combustion or decomposition of 
biologically-based materials other than fossil fuels and mineral 
sources of carbon (e.g., calcium carbonate) and biologically-based 
material (non-fossilized and biodegradable organic material 
originating from plants, animals or micro-organisms, including 
products, by-products, residues and waste from agriculture, forestry 
and related industries as well as the non-fossilized and 
biodegradable organic fractions of industrial and municipal wastes, 
including gases and liquids recovered from the decomposition of non-
fossilized and biodegradable organic material).
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    Alabama's August 23, 2016, SIP submittal includes changes to Rule 
335-3-14-.04 and Rule Chapter 335-3-16 to remove the treatment of GHGs 
as an air pollutant for the specific purpose of determining whether a 
source is a major source (or a modification thereof) in PSD and title V 
permitting requirements.\4\ The submittal also withdraws the portion of 
the State's May 8, 2013, SIP submittal that revises Rule 335-3-14-.04 
to address the Biomass Deferral Rule and makes changes to the GHG Step 
3 language proposed in Alabama's May 8, 2013, submittal.
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    \4\ i.e., removing regulation of ``GHG-only'' sources.
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    In the August 15, 2017, proposed rulemaking, EPA proposed to 
approve only the portions of the May 8, 2013, submittal that make 
changes to the GHG PAL provisions pursuant to the GHG Step 3 rule and 
the portions of the August 23, 2016, submittal that discontinue 
regulation of GHGs as an air pollutant for the specific purpose of 
determining whether a source is a major source (or a modification 
thereof) in PSD and title V permitting requirements and that make 
changes to the GHG Step 3 language proposed in Alabama's May 8, 2013, 
submittal. EPA did not propose any action on the remaining portions of 
these submittals. The details of Alabama's SIP revisions and the

[[Page 46922]]

rationale for EPA's action are further explained in the notice of 
proposed rulemaking. Comments on the proposed rulemaking were due on or 
before September 14, 2017. EPA did not receive any comments on the 
proposed action, adverse or otherwise.

II. 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 ADEM 
Administrative Code Rules 335-3-14-.04(1)(k), 335-3-14-.04(2)(a)(ii), 
and 335-3-14-.04(b)4, state effective on November 25, 2014. 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). Therefore, these 
materials have been approved by EPA for inclusion into Alabama's 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.\5\
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    \5\ 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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III. Final Action

    EPA is finalizing approval of portions of Alabama's May 8, 2013, 
and August 23, 2016, SIP submittals that revise the PSD permitting 
program at Rule 335-3-14-.04--``Air Permits Authorizing Construction in 
Clean Areas (Prevention of Significant Deterioration Permitting 
(PSD))'' by removing language regulating GHG-only sources and by adding 
language to the PAL provisions.

IV. 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 December 11, 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, Nitrogen dioxide, Ozone, Particulate Matter, Volatile 
organic compounds.

    Dated: September 21, 2017.
Onis ``Trey'' Glenn, III,
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 B--Alabama

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2. In Sec.  52.50, the table in paragraph (c) is amended under 
``Chapter No. 335-3-14 Air Permits'' by revising the entry for 
``Section 335-3-14-.04'' to read as follows:


Sec.  52.50   Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

[[Page 46923]]



                                                            EPA Approved Alabama Regulations
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                                                                   State
          State citation                 Title/subject        effective date            EPA approval date                        Explanation
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
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                                                            Chapter No. 335-3-14 Air Permits
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                                                                      * * * * * * *
Section 335-3-14-.04.............  Air Permits Authorizing        11/25/2014  10/10/2017..........................  ....................................
                                    Construction in Clean                     [Insert Federal Register citation]..
                                    Air Areas [Prevention of
                                    Significant
                                    Deterioration Permitting
                                    (PSD)).
 
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[FR Doc. 2017-21605 Filed 10-6-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P