[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 196 (Wednesday, October 10, 2018)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 50867-50868]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-22010]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R10-OAR-2018-0022; FRL-9985-25-Region 10]


Air Plan Approval; Oregon; Removal of Obsolete Regulations

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is proposing removal 
of the outdated rules in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) for the 
State of Oregon because they are duplicative or obsolete. Removal of 
such material from the air program subparts is designed to improve cost 
effectiveness and usability of the CFR. The EPA is also proposing to 
make non-substantive revisions to reflect updated citations and correct 
a typographical error. This proposed action makes no substantive 
changes to the Oregon State Implementation Plan and imposes no new 
requirements.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before November 9, 2018.

ADDRESSES: Submit your comments, identified by Docket ID No. EPA-R10-
OAR-2018-0022 at https://www.regulations.gov. Follow the online 
instructions for submitting comments. Once submitted, comments cannot 
be edited or removed from Regulations.gov. The EPA may publish any 
comment received to its public docket. Do not submit electronically any 
information you consider to be Confidential Business Information (CBI) 
or other information whose disclosure is restricted by statute. 
Multimedia submissions (audio, video, etc.) must be accompanied by a 
written comment. The written comment is considered the official comment 
and should include discussion of all points you wish to make. The EPA 
will generally not consider comments or comment contents located 
outside of the primary submission (i.e. on the web, cloud, or other 
file sharing system). For additional submission methods, the full EPA 
public comment policy, information about CBI or multimedia submissions, 
and general guidance on making effective comments, please visit http://www2.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Christi Duboiski, EPA Region 10, at 
(360) 753-9081, or [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Throughout this document, wherever ``we'', 
``us'' or ``our'' is used, it is intended to refer to the EPA.

I. Introduction

    This action is being taken pursuant to Executive Order 13563--
Improving Regulation and Regulatory Review. It is intended to reduce 
the number of pages in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) by 
identifying those rules in 40 CFR part 52, subpart MM, for the State of 
Oregon that are duplicative or obsolete. One aspect of the EPA's 
proposed action removes historical information found in the ``Approval 
of plans'' section in 40 CFR 52.1973, ``Original Identification of 
plan'' section in 40 CFR 52.1974, ``Content of approved State submitted 
implementation plan'' section in 40 CFR 52.1977, and ``Control 
Strategy: Ozone'' section in 40 CFR 52.1982. These rules no longer have 
any use or legal effect because they have been superseded by 
subsequently approved state implementation plan (SIP) revisions or they 
are no longer necessary because the EPA previously promulgated 
administrative rule actions to replace these sections with summary 
tables in 40 CFR 52.1970 (78 FR 74012, December 10, 2013). These 
summary tables describe the regulations, source-specific actions, and 
non-regulatory requirements that comprise the SIP.

II. Removal of Duplicative or Obsolete Rules and Non-Substantive 
Changes to Certain Rules

    The EPA reviewed the following regulations and found that they 
should be removed or revised for the reasons set forth as follows:

A. Section 52.1973 Approval of Plans

    As discussed above, this section is no longer necessary because the 
EPA replaced the historical information contained in this section with 
summary tables in Sec.  52.1970 (78 FR 74012, December 10, 2013). The 
EPA reviewed Sec.  52.1973 to verify that all relevant historical 
information in this section is contained in Sec.  52.1970. The EPA is 
therefore proposing to remove Sec.  52.1973.

[[Page 50868]]

B. Section 52.1974 Original Identification of Plan Section

    Sections 52.1974(b) and (c) of this section, originally designated 
as 40 CFR 52.1970(b) and (c), contain historical information about the 
EPA's approval actions for the Oregon SIP which occurred from January 
25, 1972, until September 1, 2013. On December 10, 2013 (78 FR 74012), 
the EPA reorganized the Identification of plan section (Sec.  52.1970) 
for subpart MM by listing and summarizing Oregon's currently approved 
SIP requirements in Sec.  52.1970(a) through (e). EPA is proposing to 
remove Sec.  52.1974(b) and (c) because the EPA has determined it is no 
longer necessary to codify the information found in these paragraphs. 
Section 52.1974(a) is being amended to state that this historical 
information will continue to be made available in the CFR annual 
editions, Title 40 part 52 (years 1996 through 2013). These annual 
editions are available on line at the following url address: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/browse/collectionCfr.action?collectionCode=CFR.

C. Section 52.1977 Content of Approved State Submitted Implementation 
Plan

    As previously discussed, the EPA reorganized the Identification of 
Plan section (Sec.  52.1970) for subpart MM by listing and summarizing 
Oregon's currently approved SIP requirements in Sec.  52.1970(a) 
through (e) (78 FR 74012, December 10, 2013). Section 52.1977, last 
revised January 22, 2003 (68 FR 2904), is out of date and no longer 
correct. Therefore, EPA is proposing to remove this section.

D. Section 52.1982 Control Strategy: Ozone

    This section, last updated on January 22, 2003 (68 FR 2909), is out 
of date. Current attainment and maintenance plan status for the Salem/
Portland and Medford/Ashland areas can be found in the summary tables 
in Sec.  52.1970. The EPA reviewed Sec.  52.1982 to verify that all 
relevant historical information in this section is contained in Sec.  
52.1970. The outdated text of Sec.  52.1982(a) contains two 
clarifications regarding implementation of the attainment plans. The 
EPA and Oregon subsequently resolved both issues. The EPA recently 
approved a revised version of Oregon Administrative Rule 340-232-
0160(6) (82 FR 47122, October 11, 2017), which incorporates the 
requirement of Sec.  52.1982(a)(i). In the same October 11, 2017 
action, the EPA also approved a revised version of Oregon 
Administrative Rule 340-232-0060(1), which no longer contains the 
language, ``in most cases.'' The EPA is therefore proposing to remove 
Sec.  52.1982.

E. Section 52.1988 Air Contaminant Discharge Permits

    This paragraph contains an incorrect rule citation cross reference. 
The EPA is proposing to correct a typographical error and correct the 
two citations from OAR 340-226-0040 to the correct citation, OAR 340-
226-0400.

III. Proposed Action

    This proposed action is a ``housekeeping'' exercise that merely 
recommends removal of duplicative or obsolete CFR provisions and 
corrects a non-substantive typographical error. This proposed action 
makes no substantive changes to the SIP. The EPA is proposing that the 
above referenced rules should be removed and the typographical error 
corrected, and that these changes be accurately reflected in 40 CFR 
part 52, subpart MM for the State of Oregon. The EPA proposes removing 
the duplicative or obsolete rules because they have been revised or 
superseded by subsequently approved SIP revisions.

IV. 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 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 proposed action merely removes duplicative or 
obsolete rules and corrects non-substantive typographical errors and 
does not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state 
law. For that reason, this proposed 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);
     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 it 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 proposed SIP would not be approved to apply on any Indian 
reservation land or 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 proposed 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).

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

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

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

    Dated: September 27, 2018.
Chris Hladick,
Regional Administrator, Region 10.
[FR Doc. 2018-22010 Filed 10-9-18; 8:45 am]
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