[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 19, 2018)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 65091-65093]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-27358]


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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

40 CFR Part 52

[EPA-R04-OAR-2018-0419; FRL-9988-11-Region 4]


Air Plan Approval; North Carolina Miscellaneous Revisions

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 State Implementation Plan (SIP) revisions 
provided by the State of North Carolina through the North Carolina 
Division of Air Quality (NCDAQ) in letters dated June 5, 2017, and 
August 22, 2017. The submissions revise several regulations concerning 
nitrogen oxides (NOX), emission control standards, 
monitoring, and reporting requirements. EPA is taking final action to 
approve these provisions of the SIP revisions because these changes are 
consistent with the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) and federal regulations.

DATES: This rule will be effective January 18, 2019.

ADDRESSES: EPA has established a docket for this action under Docket 
Identification No. EPA-R04-OAR-2018-0419. 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 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: Richard Wong, Air Regulatory 
Management Section, Air Planning and Implementation Branch, Air, 
Pesticides and Toxics Management Division, Region 4, U.S. Environmental 
Protection Agency, 61 Forsyth Street SW, Atlanta, Georgia 30303-8960. 
The telephone number is (404) 562-8726. Mr. Wong can also be reached 
via electronic mail at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Background

    NCDAQ submitted SIP revisions through letters dated June 5, 2017, 
and August 22, 2017 to EPA for review and approval into the North 
Carolina SIP.\1\ North Carolina's SIP revisions include multiple 
changes to its air quality rules, under Subchapter 15A North Carolina 
Administrative Code (NCAC) 02D, specifically at Section .1404, 
``Recordkeeping: Reporting: Monitoring,'' Section .0542, ``Control of 
Particulate Emissions from Cotton Ginning Operations,'' Section .0606, 
``Sources Covered by Appendix P of 40 CFR part 51,'' and Section .0608, 
``Other Large Coal or Residual Oil Burners.'' \2\ EPA is not taking 
action on Section .0535, ``Excess Emissions Reporting and 
Malfunctions'' which is included in the changes in the August 22, 2017 
SIP revision. EPA will address changes to Section .0535 in a separate 
action.
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    \1\ The SIP revisions were received by EPA on June 6, 2017, and 
September 6, 2017, respectively.
    \2\ In the table of North Carolina regulations federally 
approved into the SIP at 40 CFR 52.1770(c), 15A NCAC 02D is referred 
to as ``Subchapter 2D Air Pollution Control Requirements.''
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    In a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) published on November 14, 
2018 (83 FR 56773), EPA proposed to approve the SIP submissions 
transmitted under cover letters dated June 5, 2017, and August 22, 
2017. The specific details of the SIP submissions and the rationale for 
EPA's actions are discussed in the NPRM. Comments on the proposed 
rulemaking were due on or before December 5, 2018. EPA received five 
comments in total--one comment that is not relevant to the action, two 
comments that support the revision and two adverse comments. The 
comments can be found in the docket for this action. After considering 
the adverse comments, EPA is now taking final action to approve the 
above-referenced revision.

II. Response to Comments

    Comments: As mentioned above, EPA received two adverse public 
comments on the proposed rule published on November 14, 2018. The 
comments are available for public viewing as a part of the electronic 
docket for this rulemaking. The first Commenter notes that if the 
revisions are in line with the CAA and federal regulations, they should 
be approved; however, ``if they are considered worse, such as they are 
raising the emission rates for certain vendors, this should be 
addressed and maybe suggest a stricter standard if it is feasible.'' 
The second Commenter asserts that ``[i]n the past year, the Clean Air 
Act has been revised to be less harsh for energy plants. With a more 
relaxed Clean Air Act, the United States air quality and overall 
environmental health can take a toll. In the past 50 years ago, toxic 
pollutants like sulfur dioxide and smog have been reduced. With this 
proposed rule, this could completely reverse the progress the act has 
made thus far. These proposed changes should consider the long-term 
effects on the environment.''
    Response: It is unclear how either of the comments relate to the 
proposed rule or how the commenters would like EPA to change the 
proposed rule. The rule changes being approved do not involve any 
changes (including increases) to emission rates, nor do they implicate 
any long-term effects on the environment. Rather, as discussed in the 
notice of proposed rulemaking, the changes to the NOX 
recordkeeping, reporting, and monitoring rule involve minor 
typographical and clarifying changes that do not relax the rule, and 
the addition of sources subject to continuous emissions monitoring for 
NOX strengthens the SIP. Changes to the other rules are 
either minor or clarifying and do not alter the meaning of the rules or 
they are consistent with the requirements of the CAA and federal 
regulations.

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 taking final action to incorporate by reference North 
Carolina regulations under Subchapter 2D Air Pollution Control 
Requirements, Section .1404, ``Recordkeeping: Reporting: Monitoring,'' 
effective January 1, 2009,\3\ which clarifies the rule by updating 
quality assurance, recordkeeping and reporting requirements and 
provisions for heat input calculations and removes references to 
repealed rules. EPA is also taking final action to incorporate by

[[Page 65092]]

reference regulations under Subchapter 2D, Section .0542, ``Control of 
Particulate Emissions from Cotton Ginning Operations,'' Section .0606, 
``Sources Covered by Appendix P of 40 CFR part 51,'' and Section .0608, 
``Other Large Coal or Residual Oil Burners,'' effective June 1, 2008, 
which make minor and clarifying changes, update rule references, and 
remove obsolete controls and dates. EPA has made, and will continue to 
make, these materials generally available through www.regulations.gov 
and 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 in the State's implementation plan, 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 in 
the next update to the SIP compilation.\4\
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    \3\ January 1, 2009 is the most recent state effective date of 
Subchapter 2D, Section .1404, ``Recordkeeping: Reporting: 
Monitoring,'' and it reflects the exact version of the text of 
Section .1404 that EPA is proposing to approve into the SIP.
    \4\ See 62 FR 27968 (May 22, 1997).
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IV. Final Action

    EPA is taking final action to approve the portions of the SIP 
revisions referenced above and provided by the NCDAQ in letters dated 
June 5, 2017, and August 22, 2017. EPA is taking final action to 
approve the changes because the submissions are consistent with section 
110 of the CAA.

V. 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. These actions merely 
propose to approve state law as meeting Federal requirements and does 
not impose additional requirements beyond those imposed by state law. 
For that reason, these final actions:
     Are 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);
     Are not an Executive Order 13771 (82 FR 9339, February 2, 
2017) regulatory action because SIP approvals are exempted under 
Executive Order 12866;
     Do not impose an information collection burden under the 
provisions of the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.);
     Are 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.);
     Do 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);
     Do not have Federalism implications as specified in 
Executive Order 13132 (64 FR 43255, August 10, 1999);
     Are not an economically significant regulatory action 
based on health or safety risks subject to Executive Order 13045 (62 FR 
19885, April 23, 1997);
     Are not a significant regulatory action subject to 
Executive Order 13211 (66 FR 28355, May 22, 2001);
     Are 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
     Do 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.

List of Subjects in 40 CFR Part 52

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

    Dated: December 6, 2018.
Mary S. Walker,
Acting 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 II--North Carolina

0
2. Section 52.1770(c)(1) is amended under Subchapter 2D Air Pollution 
Control Requirements, by revising the entries for ``Section .0542''; 
``Section .0606'', ``Section .0608''; and ``Section .1404'' to read as 
follows:


Sec.  52.1770  Identification of plan.

* * * * *
    (c) * * *

                                   (1) EPA-Approved North Carolina Regulations
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                                                          State
        State citation              Title/subject       effective     EPA approval date         Explanation
                                                           date
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                                Subchapter 2D Air Pollution Control Requirements
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                                    Section .0500 Emission Control Standards
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Section .0542.................  Control of                6/1/2008  12/19/2018, [Insert    .....................
                                 Particulate                         citation of
                                 Emissions from                      publication].
                                 Cotton Ginning
                                 Operations.
 

[[Page 65093]]

 
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                               Section .0600 Monitoring: Recordkeeping: Reporting
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                                                  * * * * * * *
Section .0606.................  Sources Covered By        6/1/2008  12/19/2018, [Insert    .....................
                                 Appendix P of 40 CFR                citation of
                                 Part 51.                            publication].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
Section .0608.................  Other Large Coal or       6/1/2008  12/19/2018, [Insert    .....................
                                 Residual Oil Burners.               citation of
                                                                     publication].
 
                                                  * * * * * * *
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                                          Section .1400 Nitrogen Oxides
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Section .1404.................  Recordkeeping:            1/1/2009  12/19/2018, [Insert    .....................
                                 Reporting:                          citation of
                                 Monitoring.                         publication].
 
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[FR Doc. 2018-27358 Filed 12-18-18; 8:45 am]
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