[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 124 (Wednesday, June 27, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 30048-30049]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-13721]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R10-OAR-2017-0745; FRL-9980-00-Region 10]


Air Plan Approval; Alaska; Interstate Transport Requirements for 
the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: The Clean Air Act requires each State Implementation Plan 
(SIP) to contain adequate provisions prohibiting emissions that will 
have certain adverse air quality effects in other states. On March 10, 
2016, the State of Alaska made a submission to the Environmental 
Protection Agency (EPA) to address these requirements. The EPA is 
approving the submission as meeting the requirement that each SIP 
contain adequate provisions to prohibit emissions that will contribute 
significantly to nonattainment or interfere with maintenance of the 
2012 annual fine particulate matter (PM2.5) National Ambient 
Air Quality Standard (NAAQS).

DATES: This final rule is effective July 27, 2018.

ADDRESSES: The EPA has established a docket for this action under 
Docket ID No. EPA-R10-OAR-2017-0745. All documents in the docket are 
listed on the https://www.regulations.gov website. Although listed in 
the index, some information is not publicly available, e.g., 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 through https://www.regulations.gov, or please contact the person identified in the 
``For Further Information Contact'' section for additional availability 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jeff Hunt at (206) 553-0256, or 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Table of Contents

I. Background Information
II. Final Action
III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

I. Background Information

    On May 2, 2018, the EPA proposed to approve Alaska's submission as 
meeting the requirement that each SIP contain adequate provisions to 
prohibit emissions that will contribute significantly to nonattainment 
or interfere with maintenance of the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS in any 
other state (83 FR 19191). An explanation of the Clean Air Act 
requirements, a detailed analysis of the submission, and the EPA's 
reasons for proposing approval were provided in the notice of proposed 
rulemaking, and will not be restated here. The public comment period 
for the proposal ended June 1, 2018. We received no adverse 
comments.\1\
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    \1\ We received two comments in support of our proposed 
approval. The first was submitted by the Alaska Department of 
Environmental Conservation. The second was submitted anonymously. 
The anonymous commenter suggested additional areas for EPA research, 
primarily regarding PM2.5 impacts on environmental 
justice communities, but was overall supportive of our proposed 
approval.
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II. Final Action

    The EPA is approving Alaska's March 10, 2016, submission certifying 
that the current Alaska SIP is sufficient to meet the interstate 
transport requirements of Clean Air Act section 110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) for 
the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS, as described in the proposal for this 
action.

III. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews

    Under the Clean Air Act, the Administrator is required to approve a 
SIP submission that complies with the provisions of the Clean Air Act 
and applicable federal regulations. 42 U.S.C. 7410(k); 40 CFR 52.02(a). 
Thus, in reviewing SIP submissions, the EPA's role is to approve state 
choices, provided that they meet the criteria of the Clean Air Act. 
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);
     is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because actions such as SIP approvals are 
exempted under Executive Order 12866;
     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.);

[[Page 30049]]

     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 this action does not involve technical standards; and
     does not provide the 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 and 
is also not approved to apply in any other area where the 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).
    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. The 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 Clean Air Act, petitions for 
judicial review of this action must be filed in the United States Court 
of Appeals for the appropriate circuit by August 27, 2018. 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, Carbon monoxide, 
Incorporation by reference, Intergovernmental relations, Lead, Nitrogen 
dioxide, Ozone, Particulate matter, Reporting and recordkeeping 
requirements, Sulfur oxides, Volatile organic compounds.

    Dated: June 14, 2018.
Chris Hladick,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 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 C--Alaska

0
2. In Sec.  52.70, amend the table in paragraph (e) by adding the entry 
``Interstate Transport Requirements-2012 PM2.5 NAAQS'' after 
the entry ``Infrastructure Requirements--2010 SO2 NAAQS'' to 
read as follows:


Sec.  52.70  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (e) * * *

                   EPA-Approved Alaska Nonregulatory Provisions and Quasi-Regulatory Measures
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                                       Applicable         State
      Name of SIP provision          geographic or      submittal    EPA approval date         Explanations
                                   nonattainment area      date
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                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                     Infrastructure and Interstate Transport
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Interstate Transport              Statewide..........    3/10/2016  6/27/2018, [Insert   Approves SIP for
 Requirements--2012 PM2.5 NAAQS.                                     Federal Register     purposes of CAA
                                                                     citation].           section
                                                                                          110(a)(2)(D)(i)(I) for
                                                                                          the 2012 PM2.5 NAAQS.
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                             Regulations Approved but not Incorporated by Reference
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[FR Doc. 2018-13721 Filed 6-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6560-50-P