[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 148 (Wednesday, August 1, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 37434-37435]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-16469]
[[Page 37434]]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
40 CFR Part 52
[EPA-R05-OAR-2017-0701; FRL-9981-44--Region 5]
Air Plan Approval; Wisconsin; Modification of Greenhouse Gas
Language
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Final rule.
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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is finalizing an
approval to a revision to the Wisconsin State Implementation Plan (SIP)
submitted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) to
EPA on November 28, 2017. In this revision, WDNR makes modifications to
the language associated with how greenhouse gases are evaluated in the
Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) program. These revisions
were made to reflect changes required by the United States Supreme
Court in its June 23, 2014 decision, Utility Air Regulatory Group
(UARG) v. EPA), 134 S. Ct. 2427.
DATES: This final rule is effective on August 31, 2018.
ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket ID
No. EPA-R05-OAR-2017-0701. All documents in the docket are listed on
the www.regulations.gov website. 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 Rachel Rineheart, Environmental Engineer, at (312)
886-7017 before visiting the Region 5 office.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rachel Rineheart, Environmental
Engineer, Air Permits Section, Air Programs Branch (AR18J),
Environmental Protection Agency, Region 5, 77 West Jackson Boulevard,
Chicago, Illinois 60604, (312) 886-7017, [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. Incorporation by Reference
IV. Statutory and Executive Order Reviews
I. Background
This final rulemaking addresses the November 28, 2017 WDNR
submittal for SIP revision, revising the rules in the Wisconsin SIP to
reflect the changes required by UARG v. EPA, 134 S. Ct. 2427, on how
greenhouse gases are evaluated in the PSD program.
On June 23, 2014, in UARG v. EPA, the Supreme Court ruled that the
Clean Air Act (CAA) neither compels nor permits EPA to adopt an
interpretation of the CAA requiring a source to obtain a PSD or title V
permit based solely on its potential greenhouse gas emissions. The
ruling supported EPA's decision to require sources otherwise subject to
PSD review to comply with BACT emission standards for greenhouse gases.
In other words, with respect to PSD, the ruling upheld PSD permitting
requirements for greenhouse gases under Step 1 of the Tailoring rule
for ``anyway'' sources, i.e., sources that were subject to PSD review
anyway due to their non-greenhouse gas regulated pollutants, and
invalidated PSD permitting requirement for Step 2 sources, i.e.,
sources that were considered major solely as a result of their
greenhouse gas emissions.
Following the UARG v. EPA decision, WDNR is modifying its PSD rules
in NR 405.07(9) to establish the conditions under which greenhouse
gases at a stationary source shall be subject to the PSD regulations.
On May 25, 2018 (83 FR 24258), EPA published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPRM) proposing approval of Wisconsin's November 28, 2017
submittal for SIP revision on the basis that we found it consistent
with the June 23, 2014, UARG v. EPA ruling.
The specific details of Wisconsin's November 28, 2017 SIP revision
and the rationale for EPA's approval are discussed in the NPRM and will
not be restated here. EPA received three comments on the proposed
action; none were relevant to the rulemaking.
II. What action is EPA taking?
EPA is approving Wisconsin's November 28, 2017 submittal for SIP
revision as the modification to the greenhouse gas language in NR
405.07(9) is consistent with the June 23, 2014, UARG v. EPA ruling.
III. 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 the Wisconsin
Regulations described in the amendments to 40 CFR part 52 set forth
below. EPA has made, and will continue to make, these documents
generally available through www.regulations.gov, and at the EPA Region
5 Office (please contact the person identified in the For Further
Information Contact section of this preamble for more information).
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 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);
Is not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2,
2017) regulatory action because 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.);
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);
[[Page 37435]]
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, the rule does not have tribal implications and will not impose
substantial direct costs on tribal governments or preempt tribal law 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. 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 1, 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, Incorporation by
reference, Intergovernmental relations, Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
Dated: July 17, 2018.
Cathy Stepp,
Regional Administrator, Region 5.
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.
0
2. Section 52.2570 is amended by revising paragraphs (c)(126)
introductory text and (c)(126)(i)(D) to read as follows:
Sec. 52.2570 Identification of plan.
* * * * *
(c) * * *
(126) On May 4, 2011, June 20, 2012, and September 28, 2012,
Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR) submitted a request to
revise Wisconsin's Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD)
program to incorporate the ``Tailoring Rule'' and the Federal deferral
for biogenic CO2 emissions into Wisconsin's SIP. On November
28, 2017, WDNR submitted a modification to the greenhouse gas language
to be consistent with the June 23, 2014, UARG v. EPA ruling.
(i) * * *
(D) Wisconsin Administrative Code, NR 405.07 Review of major
stationary sources and major modifications--source applicability and
exemptions. NR 405.07(9), as published in the Wisconsin Administrative
Register July 2015, No. 715, effective August 1, 2015.
* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2018-16469 Filed 7-31-18; 8:45 am]
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